Broken Bow
by Xed Alpha
Summary: An old fool's vengence forces Apollo to keep a huge and possibly devestating secret from Artemis for over a decade, a deception that she may never be able to forgive him for. Winner of the Veritas OC award. Ghost Writers Approved. Beta by Shrrgnien.
1. Chapter 1: Assault on the Hunt

[A/N] So then, what's up with this? Well, to celebrate the near completion of Broken Bow 3, I've decided to take heed of Theia's firm but, more importantly, _fair_ words and therefore, I ask you to give thanks to the sublimely magnificent Shrrgnien who actually succeeded in doing the near impossible and completing a full on beta of this story. So give kudos to Shrrgnien for her beta work and thanks to Theia for the banner she made for this fic (see my profile for the link and make sure you leave a comment for her great work). So what's the point of this reupload? Well think of it as a remastering, but not in a bad, George Lucasy sort of way. On an unrelated note, the part of King Midas will be played by Hayden Christensen.

Standard rules apply for perspectives:

-A- First Person

-3- Third Person

**Broken Bow**

**Chapter 1: Assault on the Hunt**

On a cold winter's night, a red Camero hovered silently in the midnight blue sky, lights dimmed as its occupant carefully eyed the world below him.

Apollo was not in a good mood. This was surprising, all factors considered. After all, here he was; dressed in one of his favourite formal white suits (which he wore when needing to charm a particular kind of classy girl) out on a simply beautiful night and _possibly_ needing to go see a group of pretty, lithe young ladies.

If anything you'd think the sun god would have quite the spring in his step, a song in his heart and a haiku on his lips. But no, anyone who _did_ happen across the lord of music on this night would not be treated to his usual jovial flirtation; instead, they may quite easily have been reduced to cinders by the burning intensity of his glare.

In case you haven't guessed by now, this was one of the very few occasions where Apollo was not in the mood to play as he hovered above the forest in his chariot, muttering numerous Greek curses while scanning the greenery below him. It wasn't easy; after all, night driving _really_ wasn't his thing.

He was _close_. Apollo could sense him moving in the forest below, his link tugging the sun god in his general direction, but it wasn't easy. The forest was most certainly _not_ his domain, especially tonight of all nights of the month, when the full moon was brilliant in its intensity, dampening Apollo's imprint and enhancing the other side of his quarry's makeup with its power and making him even _harder _to track.

He gritted his perfect teeth. He was _not_ one for tracking, nor was he one for the woods, _nor_ was he about to be caught digging around in the undergrowth looking for his objective.

He exhaled a superheated breath. Apollo _knew_ it was risky to allow him to remain in the city. His condo was far too close to the forests on the outskirts, and with the moon being full and also with… _her_ being so close, he knew the call would be almost impossible for him to resist.

And yet, the god of poetry just _had_ to go out chasing his latest booty call, leaving his charge unsupervised. Needless to say it was hard for a god to admit a situation was entirely their fault. And Apollo was _damned_ if he was going to let one little moment of weakness ruin a project he had been painstakingly maintaining for over a _decade_ now. Not even a project that seemed as hell-bent on self-destruction as this one.

His eyes trained to a spot in the distance. He could feel her there. Well, he could _always_ feel her wherever she usually was (unless of course if she were currently supporting the sky in place of a rampaging Titan. At times like that she kind of fell off the radar.) What kind of doting, tender and loving big brother _didn't _always know where his beloved baby sister was at all times?

After a moment he realized if he couldn't head him off at the pass he could at _least_ buy some time and do a bit of damage control until he caught up with the little runaway. If he didn't_, _well, the kid was as good as dead. His precious little sister never really _was _fond of party crashers…

He floored the accelerator on his chariot and sped off towards the clearing where a steady column of campfire smoke rose.

He was sure his twin would be thrilled to see him…

**-**A**-**

_Keep running__…_

The pain was coming… I could feel its harbinger, a deceptive tingle running up my side, outlining where it would swallow me up from this time. All I could do was keep running…

The moon was overhead, it's light singing the call of wild nature in my skull, drawing me into the hunt. If the pain was coming I would drown myself in my instinct; in a vain hope that it would make me only detachedly aware of what was about to happen.

I knew doing what I was doing, _the hunt_, would only hasten the oncoming of the pain and make it worse when it finally did arrive. The best I could hope for was that I would make the pain so _intense_ this time that the shock would make me black out instantaneously. I smirked humorlessly at my almost masochistic thoughts.

_Close__…__ Bearing down__…__ KEEP RUNNING._

My instincts screamed. My prey was no doubt doing its best to stalk me silently as it ran but I could _feel it_; the surrounding nature was cringing back from its mere presence. In fact, I'd noticed the predator hiding in the forest before it had even noticed me. I don't know _why,_ but my scent must have been particularly appetizing, as it had begun stalking me almost as soon as it caught wind of me as I passed.

Whatever it was it was _big_, as big as a bear if not larger. And it was _fast_, even by my standards, and for me the world was always a blur when I passed through the woods, as if they were ferrying me through them by their own intent. Rather annoying sometimes really, going for a stroll in the forest, losing my focus and ending up miles off course. I racked up a lot of bus fares that way. But _whatever_ it was I could feel it catching up to me and I knew that unless I kept up my lead I wouldn't even have to worry about the upcoming pain. In fact I wouldn't have to worry about much of anything ever again.

I focused and put on a rush of speed, allowing my instincts guide me as the song drove me faster and _strangely_, I felt myself suddenly altering course as if urged by some tug or force. The song was getting stronger, putting an extra spring in my step and causing me to speed up even more as I felt myself being pulled towards the invisible force like water being dragged down a plughole. I was pulling away from my pursuer in an almost rapturous burst of power. So much so that for a second I forgot my usual self-loathing and the impending pain and dwelled in the sheer intensity of the call.

_Stop!_

This time my instinct was telling me something different than what I was actually _feeling_, which was odd considering they were supposed to be one and the same. My brow furrowed in confusion at the conflict inside me. My gut was telling me something was wrong, and if I were in a right frame of mind I may have listened, stopped and made my stand here. But I was too far gone, and even then there was an edge of danger to those other instincts, telling me whatever I was running _to_ may be even more dangerous than what I was running _from_. But it didn't matter to me one way or the other. If anything it made it all the more thrilling.

_STOP!_

My gut churned harder and for a second worry flashed on my face when I noticed light up ahead; a clearing. A small smirk twitched on my face, _alright, I'll stop, it's time for an ambush anyway_. I focused on myself, a familiar tugging sensation in my abdomen... I needed my bow.

-3-

The Goddess of the Hunt was _not_ thrilled to see her twin.

In fact she _had_ been in quite a jovial mood, as she often was when she and her Hunters celebrated on the full moon. This, however instantly evaporated when she caught sight of her brother's chariot skidding into a landing in the center of the clearing. The snow that had lightly covered the ground around it melted instantly and the grass beneath turned yellow, then burst into flames.

The mood died instantly and silence fell as the Sun God emerged. The light-hearted looks of content on the faces of the Hunters instantly took on one of guarded scorning. None actually _voiced_ their feelings, of course. Apollo was, after all, a god, and it wasn't wise to intentionally ridicule one, so they fell into silent contempt of the deity who had interrupted them. The _actual_ scorning would be left to their mistress.

Artemis, however, noticed something somewhat odd in her brother's demeanor. The first thing she registered as amiss was the fact that he hadn't even spared a _look_ towards her Hunters; not even acknowledged that he knew they were there. Not so much as a kissy face or sultry glance. His eyes were burning directly into her and her alone. Secondly, judging by the look in his eyes, either the Titans were back again or the mortals were planning to blow up the moon. It wouldn't surprise her if they tried. When he finally approached her and stopped, his tone of voice and the heated aura he was emitting confirmed something was genuinely off with her twin tonight.

"I would speak with you, sister" The sun god stated in a level tone. Without another word he walked past her into an enclosed part of the clearing.

Artemis was taken aback by her brother's odd behavior and uncharacteristic formality, and so she followed behind with a curious frown on her face. She raised a hand as soon as Thalia began to follow her, halting her on the spot; she had a feeling her brother wished to talk in private, and frankly the less interaction he had with her Hunters the better.

"Well Apollo, what is it that demands such a rude interruption? You should know fair well this is one night of the month we wish to be alone," she demanded sternly of her brother, who currently had his back to her, his blonde hair glinting in the moonlight as he stared into the forest. He was silent for a moment, then spoke.

"I came to request a favor of you tonight, Artemis." he said, not turning about.

Artemis raised one perfectly formed eyebrow, "_Really_ brother? And what is this request, so I may take swift pleasure in scorning it and return to my Hunters quickly?"

Apollo turned around, the pupils of his eyes ablaze with angry light, "I am _not_ here because I want to be!" he snapped, the ground around him singeing from the sudden heat.

Artemis' eyes narrowed. Her brother's attitude was most curious tonight. "Very well, Apollo, I will listen."

"I simply need you to promise me something. No, I need you to _swear_ something to me."

"You are being even more impertinent than usual, but I'm still listening."

Apollo clenched his teeth. Considering he was the god of poetry, he wasn't very good at phrasing his words. "There is something about in these woods tonight."

"A beast?" she enquired in an almost amused tone. "You feel the need to warn me of such a trifle?"

Apollo shook his head, "No, not a beast. A_…hunter._"

Artemis' frown deepened, "Mortal? You know what I do to mortals who dare try to witness my hunt, no exceptions," she reminded him sternly.

"The hunter may not even happen across you, but if this person does, I need you to swear to me: no killing, no maiming and _no_ transformations. I just need you to keep that hunter busy until I get back."

Artemis smirked disdainfully. "And why, _brother_, should I agree to such an outrageous proposal?"

Apollo sighed dejectedly, "Though I cannot say why, I _will_ swear, on the River Styx itself, that it is of the utmost importance for both your sake _and_ for the hunter I speak of that you allow no harm to befall that person." Thunder boomed overhead at his words.

Artemis was taken further aback at the sudden oath her brother had made, as even_ he_ knew the seriousness of doing such a thing. Either he was telling the truth, or he at least _believed _he was. "Why? What is so special about this person?"

"Just swear to me sister, I beg you," he said quietly, the difficulty of making the request clear in his voice.

The goddess' eyes burned into her brother's for a moment in silence, and then she made her decision. "Very well."

The sun god breathed a sigh of relief, "_Thank you,_ Artemis. Now do you swear, on the River Styx, that the next hunter who may or may not happen upon you and your camp tonight will come to no harm from you or your Hunters-in fact, they may not even _touch_ this person- and that you yourself will not kill, maim, mutilate or transform this person. Also, that you will keep this person occupied in whatever way you deem fit until my return and _not_ permit that person to escape under any circumstances?"

"What do you mean, 'your return'?"

"I must keep looking elsewhere; as I said, there is only a _chance_ the hunter may come across you. I _suppose_ I could just wait here to see if this person shows up or not, but then I'd have to wait with you and your friends _all night long._" He added the last part with his usual playful smirk.

Artemis scowled, "I would prefer the oath, but how can you be sure _when_ you will need to return?"

The sun god looked almost sad for a second. "If the hunter comes, I'll be able to tell if I need to come back. Trust me, I'll know. _Now then_, do you swear upon the conditions I have laid down?"

She hesitated for a second, and then spoke. "On the River Styx, I swear it" she said in a level tone, thunder rumbling directly above, signaling the pact.

Apollo frowned as he glanced up, "You ever get the feeling we're a little ostentatious?"

The huntress sighed, "If there's nothing else, Apollo-"

Apollo looked far more relaxed, "Of course not sissy, I'll be making tracks right away." he said lightly as he turned to walk back to his chariot.

"_Wait,_" she began sharply, bringing her twin to a halt. "This 'Hunter', is it a _man_?" she enquired, the last word laced with her usual venom.

Apollo paused as if thinking. "Hmm…no. Not a man. If anything, _this_ hunter reminds me very much of yourself," he said and continued walking off, laughing silently under his breath.

Artemis remained on the spot for a second, her silver eyes burning into her brother's back, suspicions flooding through her. She followed a second later, choosing not to dwell on what she currently had no control over. The only thing she _could _be sure of is that her brother was hiding something from her.

Apollo stopped only to blow a kiss to Thalia. The girl merely glared back angrily in response, thankful she was almost totally immune to the sun god's charms now... almost. Without another word he boarded his chariot and sped off into the night sky, leaving a scorched patch of earth behind in his wake.

Thalia approached her mistress uncertainly, "Lady Artemis?" she enquired to her goddess who had walked back into the clearing, and was now staring after her brother with an unreadable expression on her face.

Artemis didn't take her eyes off the sky when she spoke, deep in thought, "Thalia, spread the word to your sisters; the next person who enters this clearing, no matter who it may be, will not be harmed, nor will you or the others touch, attempt to restrain or fight that person. Should someone come I will handle the situation myself."

Thalia stared at the small goddess in bewilderment. As if reading her emotions (and in fact, she was), Artemis' head tilted round to regard her lieutenant out of the corner of her eye. She didn't say anything but her meaning was clear. Thalia immediately snapped out of her confusion, "Right away, Lady Artemis," she said and turned to pass the command to the others whilst Artemis continued her skyward vigil, her thoughts full of suspicion aimed at her brother…and something _else_, something nagging on the edge of her perception that she couldn't quite put her divine finger on…

Her calm focus was shattered a few moments later when something large exploded out of the undergrowth across the clearing.

-A-

Still had to keep running. Wasn't time to stop and think but I knew I _had_ to get in position as soon as possible. I had to be ready for it.

I saw the glint of silver light in the corner of my eye as it formed around my hand. I closed my left fist around the ball of light, causing it to instantly shape itself into my bow.

I spied a rock semi-concealed under a hedge up ahead and immediately got placed my right foot on it to get some leverage, thrusting myself into the air and turning round to land facing the undergrowth... and my concealed prey.

I had landed as well as could be expected, sliding back a few feet in the snow covered grass. I immediately nocked the two silver arrows I had already formed earlier and loosed them into the darkness.

I paused, listening. The only sound that responded a second later were two simultaneous _thunks_ as the two arrows embedded harmlessly in a tree.

_Missed._

I gritted my teeth in frustration and jammed my bow into the earth next to me, not taking my eyes off the forest as I unsheathed the bronze sword strapped sideways across my lower back and stood ready... I could see it now; rising up out of the darkness. Obviously its wits weren't as dull as I'd first thought. Blood red eyes could be seen glistening in the moonlight, regarding me hungrily from the darkness.

I'd lost its scent, my senses were currently being assaulted by smells of burning firewood, cooking venison and… _people_, a slightly soaped scent mixed with natural oils. If my focus wasn't dead ahead I would've rolled my eyes;

_girls_… _perfect._

But first things first; it seemed to be hesitating, as if wary of attacking me for some reason now that I was in the clearing.

_Still a ranged target._

Slowly, very slowly, my left hand drifted to grip my bow again. This proved to be a mistake. The instant my arm extended the silhouette tensed and, with speed I found I could only feel sheer awe at, lurched forward and free of the greenery and was in the air in front me. It seemed to hang there suspended and I finally got a good look at my opponent.

_Hellhound._

It had leapt directly for my slightly extended left arm, its huge canine bulk spinning me once and slamming me flat on my back.

It fell on me, and immediately I felt the creature's crushing weight pushing down, forcing the air from my lungs. I flipped my sword up to guard just as a razor sharp claw descended to try and rake my chest open. I managed to grip the hilt with both hands to try and hold the paw away. It pushed hard, my own sword was being tilted back and pushed into the skin of my arm and I was idly aware of the bronze blade digging into my skin.

I slammed my knee up under the hilt guard and pushed the blade upwards into the beasts paw. Thankfully the creature seemed far more upset at the prospect of having sharpened bronze digging into its skin than I did, because as soon as I saw a small spray of dust erupt from where it was forcing itself down, the monster reared back with a howl of pain.

_Now!_

I had a split second to act before it came down on me again to finish me off. I swung my sword up, point aimed at the hound's soft furry underbelly, and with one hand on the pommel I placed a foot under each side of the hilt guard. Without even looking the beast lunged forward with an enraged roar and effectively threw itself straight onto my upturned blade.

The roar died and was effectively swallowed back down its throat as the creature felt the tip of the blade pierce it's chest. It fell silent and then let out an almost comedic squeak as I thrust my feet forward, driving my sword into its heart.

The hound exploded into a satisfying shower of golden powder, leaving me laying on my back, breathless, slightly bloodied, and coated in dog-dust. Needless to say I fought the urge to gasp for breath until I was sure I wouldn't be inhaling copious amounts of my fallen prey.

I spared my foe a moment's thought as I dragged myself to my feet, trying to fix my disheveled appearance slightly in the process.

_Not bad. Thankfully wasn't a big one, must have been another leftover from the- BEHIND_!

My eyes widened as I realized how tense I still was. I had bested my enemy but for some reason every hair on my neck still stood on end; raw animosity was in the air. Something wanted me dead… no… a _lot_ of somethings wanted me dead, and I had a sinking suspicion I was now surrounded by a large group of them. That was when I heard her voice, laced with indignation, superiority and overwhelming contempt…

"Boy!"

-3-

Artemis' head whipped around the instant she sensed the undergrowth being disturbed. Before she had even finished reorienting the rest of her body towards the disturbance, her Hunters had drawn their blades and bows and were readying to attack. They obeyed her orders well and held their fire, however. She idly observed the shadow erupt from the darkness, turning and landing to face the way it had came with reasonable grace. That was when she noticed two things that made her less than amused:

_Not a man,_ she recalled her brother say. "A _boy_" she hissed under her breath. She was going to make Apollo pay for this.

Second was the weapon the child was wielding with ease of skill that usually came from years of practice; a bow, a _silver bow_. Normally this wouldn't have given her even remote pause, but it was the shape and the intricate ancient Greek carvings which were almost identical to her own bow that stunned her. That is, the bow her father had granted to her as one of her wishes when she was six years old. How a child could've attained such a perfect replica eluded her, but the indignation of a _boy_ wielding the symbol of something so precious to her angered the goddess greatly.

She calmed herself enough to regard the child from behind and also to analyze the mental image she had taken when he had emerged from the woods: mid teens, about fifteen or sixteen perhaps; not particularly tall, standing less than 5 foot 3; unkempt neck-long caramel hair; sharp features with a pair of piercing grey… no, not grey… _silver_ eyes; he had the frame of someone not unfamiliar with the hunt, small and compact but slightly muscular, and was garbed in an oddly traditionally styled dark-green-and-brown hunter's tunic designed clearly more for ease of movement than comfort. Judging by the small pack hanging from his shoulder he wasn't intending to be on the hunt for any prolonged amount of time. She also found it odd that for someone who carried a bow he had no quiver and the only arrows he had were the two in his right hand. The only other weapon he seemed to have was the single-handed sword on his back.

She looked past him into the undergrowth at what was approaching. _Hellhound, slightly less than average size._ She was bound by the oath not to destroy the vermin that had infested her camp, but she was _not _however required to stop anything _else_ from killing him.

She observed as the child fired two arrows into the undergrowth, but the creature had halted once the boy had entered the clearing and lowered itself down out of caution. She wondered if perhaps it had sensed the presence of her and the Hunters. However, had it still been going as it had when the boy leapt into the clearing then the arrows clearly would've pierced it clear in the skull and at the base of its throat. His aim was true, this much she would hand him, but a little late.

She did another double-take when she spied the unmistakable glint of the celestial bronze blade he drew. She then noticed his hesitation between blade and bow. It was understandable, as both would've been acceptable in this instance.

However, at a time when the balance between hunter and prey was at such an impasse, any hunter should know they don't have the time to hesitate. And so the goddess wasn't surprised and didn't react as the hound leapt out of the bushes and pinned the boy down. Luckily for him his reactions were enough to defend with his sword.

She idly wondered if she would stop the beast _before_ it managed to rake the child's flesh from his bones. She wasn't as unsympathetic as most thought and she could clearly sense Thalia's barely contained urge to stop the beast, even if it _was_ for the sake of a boy. But the lady of the hunt didn't move; she knew it wasn't over, as much as part of her wanted the male annoyance removed. She watched as the boy repelled and quickly impaled the Hound, dispatching the threat.

Curious, she didn't feel quite as frustrated at the outcome of the boy's survival as she first thought she would.

Artemis observed her Hunters immediately shift the aim of their bows from where the hound had been to the back of the newcomer; their arrows half drawn and the others with knives unsheathed. They would follow her orders not to attack, as much as they wished to do otherwise. But that didn't mean, of course, that they couldn't take on an appropriately offensive posture.

And as for the child, well, as Apollo said: _keep him occupied in any way you see fit_. A merciless smirk twitched at the corner of her mouth. She didn't need to transform the boy into a rodent in order to discipline him appropriately.

However, it would be fitting that since, due to his posture, he had clearly sensed their presence, he would at least turn and _face _them.

She observed as he idly dabbed the cut in his arm from where his sword had been pushed into his arm. That alone raised an important point; the celestial bronze had _cut_ him and that could mean only one thing: _Not a mortal__…__a half-blood_.

His archery skills befitted an Apollo child but his combat instinct marked him apart, plus his appearance differed in several distinctive ways. So that begged the question: _who_ was his Olympian parent then?

Her impatience won over in the end and she decided that the intruder had had enough time to smooth himself down and now this _male_ would explain himself. _Plus_ she could sense her Hunters practically begging her with their eyes to do something about him.

"_Boy!_" she barked. She noticed his shoulders tense, not in shock, but as if he had sensed the loathing and scorn in her voice and didn't especially like it. If anything he seemed to find it so familiar in his mind that it enraged him slightly. Everything else in his head seemed puzzling to her, as if he were intentionally keeping it blank.

He turned around, not sheathing his sword, but hooking his bow over a shoulder, and once he had completed his 180 turn planted his feet firmly in the ground and without answering immediately began scanning the area.

Artemis knew a threat assessment when she saw one, so she gave the boy a moment, watching as his silver eyes darted about the clearing. They flicked from Hunter to Hunter, weapon to weapon, scanning for exits, searching for the biggest threat. Part of her even empathized with what he was doing. After all, it was what she would do; find the biggest threat. She was pleased the boy was having a hard time choosing just who out of her Hunters was the biggest threat, although she noticed his eyes would dart back to Thalia every now and then; a smart move, he was doing well. Now all he had to do was clock it. It seemed, however, that something within him was trying to stop him from registering her presence, like some deep-rooted fear, and it was only after he appeared to force himself to face her that his now almost fearful silver eyes met hers across the clearing and his assessment stopped dead.

_There you go, boy__…_

Artemis smirked. Time to begin…

-A-

_Find the biggest threat; the alpha of the group_.

There were several imposing girls amongst them. Oddly enough the only one who _didn't_ look at me like I was something she had stood in (although was still looking very disapproving at my presence) was coming across to me as one of the main threats. I wasn't sure if it was the fire in her eyes or the strange scent of ozone she was emitting but I felt I had to keep my eye on her. There were several more physically imposing ones but I dismissed most of those and their glares as mere posturing.

But this wasn't an issue of three or four posturing girls, there had to be nearly two _dozen _of them, and they had totally encircled the entire clearing. I figured at best I could take maybe five (assuming I avoided the aforementioned girl with the silver circlet on her head and the ozone smell) before I was transformed into a pincushion by their bows.

_Escape route?_

None. All points taken, they had even covered my point of entry. But what about-

_NO!_

No, not that way, keep looking, there has to be… But it was such a _huge_ gap in their defense and I could see only one person-

_Not that way!_

I shook my head to clear it. My gut was screaming at me to avoid what would normally be an obvious escape route. I gritted my teeth. Logically it was the _only_ way out, and so with great difficulty forced my instincts down. Slowly I creaked my head round, followed by my entire body, to find out just exactly _why_ I was so afraid. And I immediately found out…

_And there it is: biggest threat._

There she was, alone, a gap of several feet between her and the other girls. Standing calmly and at this point, not even armed. Her bronze sword was embedded in the earth but not out of reach of her hand. There was a quiver of arrows by her left leg, but strangely I couldn't spy a bow, strung or otherwise.

Something told me that that wouldn't stop her. It didn't stop me, after all.

_The eyes__…_

I had tried my best to avoid them, trying to simply categorize her based on size and stature, which wasn't too bad. She was short; not reaching five foot, barely into adolescence but with the nimble trim figure of an acrobat. Logic told me it should be child's play to bat her aside and be out of here in a flash. And then… I saw her eyes, and they told me everything. And for a second I had to focus to prevent my knees buckling and resist the urge to drop before her in reverence. I shook my head and practically swallowed the sensation down with disgust.

But there they were; silver orbs boring into me across the common. In them I saw everything my gut was telling me, as if she were intentionally projecting these feelings with them: _fear and exultation; the rush of the hunt; the instant of the kill frozen in time; loathing; twisted amusement._

I dug my feet deeper in the snow and inhaled a deep calming breath. I knew I should blank my head and just relax. Unfortunately, that would mean I would have to rely on instinct, and that instinct would lead me right back to her.

_Logic it is_.

Negotiate… Or a surprise attack?

"I think you will find both of those options exceedingly difficult." Her voice spoke up suddenly. It was smooth and infinitely calm.

_Wait__…__ How did she__…__ Did she just-_

"Yes, I did."

_Telepathy__…__ The imposing presence__…__ Just like Apollo... But that would mean she's an... Ah crud._

"So _you're _the hunter Apollo spoke of. Tell me; what name do you go by, _boy_?" she enquired, her tone superior and dripping with undisguised disrespect.

_Apollo!_

"Apollo" I muttered out loud and began pacing slightly, mumbling that name over and over under my breath, "Apollo, Apollo, Apollo…"

I had ignored the girl's question and her scorning tone. I felt my fist clench at that name. Always Apollo, _always_ there when I don't want him. I had spent most of my time living alone after Apollo adopted me when I was five (or after 'the messy bit,' as he called it). From there he had me tutored at home. Turning up when it amused him most (or as he would put it 'when your uncle Apollo is _needed_ most'). This usually coincided with the times when the more attractive of my tutors were in. This also provoked a strange feeling of deep-seated disapproval I could never quite place. I will admit there _were_ times he showed up when I needed him but it was mostly just _this_; manipulating my life. Keeping me like a nice housetrained _pet_ in his little cage, and when I _did_ escape he was always there, lurking somewhere in the shadows, manipulating the events so I would always end up running right back into his clutches.

"Always Apollo!" I hissed. I felt an irrational rage build up inside of me and for a second I felt my fear of the impending pain and the fear of this situation simply disappear.

"So, you are acquainted with Apollo, are you?" I heard her enquire, seemingly having accepted I wasn't about to answer her previous query.

"Am I acquainted with Apollo?_ Pah!_" I inclined my head angrily and scoffed mirthlessly at the question.

"_Boy!"_ She snapped again, and I'm not sure if it was her tone of voice or my rage at Apollo, but I snapped and redirected my anger at her, as for some reason I was deeply angry at this girl as well and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why.

"I HAVE A NAME YOU DIMINUTIVE _FREAK_!" This I practically roared across the flat area at the solitary figure. I would come to regret this choice of action.

-A-

_Diminutive__…__ Freak?_

Artemis wasn't quite sure, but she really had no comeback for something like that. Normally she would've obliterated the boy on the spot, and if it weren't for the oath he would already be a toad… Or perhaps a guinea fowl …she liked those.

Her Hunters had fallen dead silent. There were several mouths hanging open. The shock would wear off and she knew her usually stoic Hunters would no doubt soon transform themselves into a lynch mob.

With _extreme _restraint, she managed not to break her oath, but she could feel nature going mad around her. Wolves in the forest were howling, deer were running blindly without direction and even the moon seemed to be glowing with blinding anger. Even the boy, who seemed to have calmed himself down, appeared to be sensing her anger and had reassumed his former poise and had even took a cautionary step back.

The goddess calmed herself however, as she sensed there seemed to be a purveying sense of sorrow fuelling the boy's anger, which she had inadvertently sparked by mentioning her brother. Her indignation was quelled further by the slightly amusing thought that her brother's name could ignite as much irritation in another as it did in herself. And it was because of this that she did something she very rarely did; she repeated herself.

"Very well, I shall ask you again. _What name do you go by, boy_?"

A slight blush formed on his cheeks as he realized she had indeed asked for his name previously. He breathed out a sigh and met her gaze once again, replying in a level tone, "Dove, Armani Dove."

"Half-blood?" she asked.

"So I'm told," he responded in the same tone.

She could sense he meant no insult by the reply; as if it _was_ just because he was told and not because he actually believed it. And so she asked the question that had been truly nagging at her, "Who are your parents?"

She noticed his eyes narrow in irritation, "Orphaned, I have no parents."

Artemis' brow knitted in frustration, "No, who is your Olympian parent?"

Armani appeared confused by the question, "Like I said, no parents. Apollo advised me to say _undetermined._"

Now it was Artemis' turn to look confused. She could sense the boy's emotive state so she knew he spoke what he believed was truth, and yet, "You speak untruthfully, you must be..." she found herself saying.

Armani sighed and strode forward slowly, stopping a few yards from the goddess. She quirked up that eyebrow again in question at his approach. "Sorry, but we just seemed _silly_ shouting across the clearing. I may be here against my will but that doesn't mean I can't be civil. Now, back to your comment; why must I be lying?" he asked tersely, as if being accused of mistruth was deeply offensive to him.

The goddess narrowed her eyes at the boy. "All Olympian deities made an oath that they would claim all of their children upon their coming of age. Who claimed you?"

"No one _claimed _me. Perhaps my parent wasn't aware of my birth or perhaps it could be that I'm not even a half-blood."

"Firstly, a god always knows of the children they have sired or birthed. Secondly, your blade is celestial bronze is it not?" He inclined his head in response. She then indicated the cut on his arm. "If you were mortal that blade would not have inflicted that injury" Armani stared at the cut in distaste for a second before turning back. "There is also Mist around this area. A mortal would've been deterred and avoided it, plus a hellhound would have had little to no interest in a mortal."

"How very succinct of you," he muttered, the subject of his lineage obviously not something he enjoyed discussing. "Do you yourself have a name, or shall I simply refer to you as _you_?"

Artemis' eye twitched in irritation, "You mean you have not guessed the answer yet?"

The boy glanced around at the girls, "I have a vague idea but it's not one I feel inclined to entertain. You're an Olympian, this much I will presume."

"She is-" Thalia spoke up indignantly however Artemis raised one hand to silence her, an amused smirk on her face. Thalia recognized it. It was usually followed by her destroying something with her bare hands.

Armani had paused, glancing between Thalia and Artemis, "Carry on," Artemis said.

"Shall I dismiss 'goddess of the Girl scouts'?"It was a light jibe but provoked a wave of angry hisses and muttering. "And by the looks of general dislike from your female counterparts and their _outlandish_ appearance I can only assume you to be the good Lady Artemis: goddess of the moon and the Hunt; protector of virtuous maidens; goddess of wild nature, forests and hills, fertility and childbirth…" he paused to think as if trying to remember any additional titles. "I think that's all of them."

Artemis inclined her head. It was the closest thing to a respectful remark he had made since they had met. "So, you know of me then?"

Armani sighed distastefully, "With all due respect, if I hear _one_ more haiku about how precious and fragile you are, just _one_ more sonnet about how wonderfully the moon reflects the light of the sun, just _one_ more poem about Apollo's precious little virgin sister, I think, to be frank, I will scream, throw up, pass out and _hopefully_ in that order."

"Truly?" Artemis said drily, though she took no offence. If the boy had indeed spent that much time with her twin then she was impressed the child had even a single thread of sanity left in him at all. But that was _not_ what was important right now; the most important emotion the goddess of the hunt had surging through her right now was frustration. "Then if you know me, you should know well what I do to _boys_ who dare to stray upon my hunt."

Armani Dove fell silent for a moment as if thinking on something, "_Yes_, your petulant outbursts at the opposing gender are quite notorious." Several more intakes of breath followed, "but something occurs to me."

Her anger was back at the edge in his tone, and this time it was visible on her face, "And that is?"

"That if you had indeed intended to _lash out,_ you or your associates would have done so by now. So why don't _you_ tell _me_; what's stopping you _Lady_ Artemis? Could it be...Apollo?" he asked, a ghost of a smile on his face.

"You _vermin"_ she hissed at him. Both the way he used her name and his words were getting to her, but then that malicious smile returned. "However, you are correct; I _did_ make an oath not to kill or maim you nor use my power to change you into a more _apt_ form. Apollo _did_ however leave me with the request to 'keep you occupied' in any way I deem fit."

The implication was clear as he had reflexively leapt back from arms distance. Artemis' face took on a calm, extremely disturbing smile. "You would be surprised, young boy, just how much damage I can do to a person without actually _maiming _or _killing_ them."

-A-

_Never provoke the gods; trust me, we find a way to make you regret it._ One of the few pieces of advice from Apollo I should've taken heed of. But, in for a penny, as they say. I didn't have much time, the pain was coming and a prolonged fight was _not_ what I had in mind. My instinct to run was flaring but my gut seemed to accept there was no getting away from Artemis unless she permitted it. I had to assume her Hunters weren't permitted to get involved but now that I knew my opponent's identity I knew I may as well have been alone with her in the open area and _still_ have the same chance of escape. And so I focused on the fight, there was no avoiding it.

I consoled myself that there were, after all, mentions of half-bloods besting Olympians in one on one combat.

_He was a half-blood of the big three and was in his own element! She's the goddess of the hunt and you're fighting her in the forest under a full moon!_

I clenched my fist to force back the hopelessness of the situation and took on a fighting stance. I couldn't let her know time was against me; _let her come to you_.

When she did, I regretted it. With a blur she had crossed the distance between us and I found her elbow embedded in my chest. I skidded back three feet in the grass. If my feet weren't embedded in the ground I would be hurtling through the air right now.

_Don't let her get you to the ground!_

I went into auto-pilot from there on. It was useless to stop and think about the fight, she was far too fast for that. If I stopped to pause for even a second, she'd beat me into the dirt. My mind went blank as the song of the hunt filled my skull again.

Without hesitation I dropped to one hand and swung my leg around to swipe at her ankles. With blinding speed she leapt three feet straight up, causing me to miss by a millimeter. She clenched a fist and drove it down at my skull as she landed, but I reacted as soon as my leg swipe missed and had already flipped myself back onto my feet. I swung my foot up the catch her in the chest but she was already gone, having propelled herself up off one hand and back onto her feet. Before I could recover a small hand clamped itself onto my extended ankle and the next thing I knew I was being hurled round and through the air like a ragdoll. I landed a good five meters away, back in the middle of the clearing.

I coughed for the air that the impact had knocked from my lungs. I rolled over onto my back. The moon was glaring down at me, and so was _she. _And both seemed to be doing so with contempt.

She planted a small foot on my upper chest and slowly began increasing the pressure. I found it increasingly difficult to breathe; I knew I had seconds before my ribs began to fracture. The attack was meant to subdue but the imagery was clear; she was quite literally grinding me underfoot.

I pushed up at her foot with both hands but she had me held fast with both her heel and with her eyes which were boring straight into me. "Typical male" she practically spat.

It wasn't her scorning voice, but the look deep in her eyes, like there was some inherent disease in me and all I was good for was being culled.

Of course I_ knew_ those eyes… I felt my stare momentarily drift to the scar that ran across the back of my right hand. I'd gotten it when, after staring at myself for long enough in a mirror back home in an attempt to identify the feeling of inadequacy and self-loathing that had always burned in me for as long as I could remember, I had snapped and in a rage slammed my fist into my own reflection with such force the entire wall mirror shattered (it pained Apollo to no end to remove all the mirrors from the condo as a precaution…oh my heart wept) and now here she was, standing over me and having the _gall_ to look down on me with those eyes..._my_ eyes.

I'm not sure if she could sense the building fury in me or could simply see the clenched teeth but I had one thing to say to her.

I felt my muscles burn as I pushed her foot up inch by inch, "I won't _let you_…look at me…with those EYES!" I practically roared, and with one last burst of strength forced her foot up. The sudden movement knocked her off balance and she staggered back a step. Working on anger alone I sprung off my shoulders and right back onto my feet. Planting my left foot, I swung my right foot up, intending to catch the smug goddess square in the jaw, but she staggered back again _just_ out of range. She had backpedaled once again, as if taken aback, first by my outburst, then my attack. _Why_ wasn't important, the fact of the matter was she was taken aback...No..._She was off guard._

_NOW!_

I knew if there was_ any_ chance to land a blow on her then within this one second it lay, but I was seeing too much red to come up with a decent attack so, dropping all pretence, I charged her head on. I caught her eyes widening in shock the instant before my shoulder impacted her smaller frame with all the finesse of a large hippopotamus. Enveloping her between my arms, I charged forward and slammed her with all my might into a well-placed and most unforgiving oak tree. I felt something crack. It was in all likelihood the tree, but a small malicious part of me genuinely hoped it was her.

From between me and said tree I felt my arms being forced effortlessly apart, and then felt my upper body being pushed backwards. I stared down as Artemis raised her head up slowly and a pair of unnaturally silver eyes glowed with undisguised and indignant fury. I tried to pull away but was held fast. A flick of her wrists sent me staggering back a few paces. I stopped, but then knew instantly this was a mistake.

_Keep backing off!_

But it was too late as Artemis had gripped the tree for leverage, lifted one small foot and booted me flat in the abdomen with all the force of a freight train. And I found it depressing to no end that, as I sailed through the air, only two words managed to come to mind.

_Sparta Kick._

And when I _did_ hit the ground I wasn't entirely sure if the groan of pain was from the impact or the bad pop culture reference. All I _did_ know was one inescapable fact… I didn't stand a chance against her. She was stronger than me, my instincts were good but hers were several steps better, every time I moved on gut feeling she read ahead and had already planned a counter, and I also had the distinct feeling that if she was toying with me before, then the kiddie gloves had just come off.

I also had to admit, between the pain of my possibly cracked ribs and bruised spleen, that I was impressed with the force she could release from such a small frame. Impressed, but still angry, and now so was she...well…angri_er_.

She strode intently across the plain towards me with murder in her eyes. In a single motion my hand reached over my shoulder and whipped out a transparent bottle from my bag. I held it extended to my side; it was filled with amber liquid.

The goddess paused, her eyes flicking between mine and to the bottle. Holding her eyes I twisted off the top between my thumb and forefinger and immediately began downing the contents almost angrily. I opened my throat and pored half a liter of nectar straight into me.

I could tell why she wasn't attacking. She was most likely assessing whether or not it was a lethal dose…and to be honest, it probably was. I could feel it burning through me. Another mouthful and I probably would've erupted into flames right there, but I held it together, the pain dulled and I felt strength surge into me. A calculated risk.

"You _could've_ destroyed yourself," Artemis observed dryly.

"Like I care," I snapped back. I knew I had moments, possibly seconds, in which to conclude things. As whilst boosting healing and strength, nectar has the side effect of boosting the metabolism along with it which meant it...the pain... would be coming on quicker. I had to end it _now_ and get to safety.

I dropped the bottle into the snow as my hand drifted over to my sword, its tip still embedded in the snow. I grasped it, yanked it free and swung the blade around, pointing the tip at Lady Artemis before sliding into a guarded stance.

"Tell me _Goddess of the Hunt_; this no maiming rule, which of us does it apply to again?" The question was, of course, entirely rhetorical, as the lady had already stepped back and lazily drew her own blade from its sheathe. Her sword, unlike mine, wasn't raised but hung lazily down at her side. Something told me her deceptively lax guard was nothing but a very inviting cover to attack and that she was as equally deadly with her blade as with her hands. But like I said, I didn't have time to worry.

I let my irrational anger take hold as the burning surge of the nectar in me combined with it. With an utterly clichéd battle cry which even I found cringe worthy, I charged forward as she stood waiting, expectantly.

I had one shot, so I dodged to the right and forward onto a bolder and, using every ounce of the burst of strength the nectar had granted me, I leapt almost six feet into the air, bringing my sword up for one most likely futile attempt at an overhead strike.

In any other circumstances it would've probably made a picturesque moment; leaping in the moonlight, blade glistening as I lunged for the death strike.

I was aware of Artemis raising her own blade, and time seemed to slow, as it usually does in the critical moment of the hunt. She twisted her body and angled the flat of the blade to the side. I got the feeling that if she wasn't going to try and cleave me open with it, then she was at least going to give me a nice blade-shaped welt on my face as a consolation. On my side I figured that if I had to lop off one of her arms to escape, then so be it. I mean, it's not like I could kill a god, could I? She would heal, right? As I hit the peak of my jump I instantly realized the question was moot as the tingle up my side turned suddenly into a shiver, then spread all over my body.

_No!_

I felt my very existence lurch as the tear in me reached the surface... And then it opened…

_Here it comes__…_

-3-

Lady Artemis was well prepared. The ground attack with a sword was suicide of course, the overhead, only marginally less. She would normally gut her prey in two with a single swing in such circumstances, but there was still the oath.

She prepared to strike, then she noticed something odd that all transpired over the course of a second: whilst in midair his expression changed to one of shock; then fear; then despair and he seemed unable to keep his sword up as his hand spasmed and the sword was flung over his shoulder and stabbed in the earth behind him.

Her frown melted as her silver eyes widened in shock as, in that instant frozen in midair, his entire body flashed with silver/blue light like an x-ray shined over his skin with his skeletal structure below visible for a second. Artemis took a step back as he crashed to the ground in front of her. He spasmed again, this time pulsing with a golden light, his skull once again visible beneath the glow.

Whatever was happening clearly wasn't pleasant, as it tore an unearthly scream of agony from his throat as he thrashed on the ground, his outline flashing between gold and silver light. At one point it pulsed silver continuously and this must've been_ particularly_ bad, as the next hoarse scream was bellowing and laced with the power of the wild. Artemis staggered as the tone shook her core and she sensed the nature in the surrounding environment suddenly go absolutely berserk. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his bow suddenly glow blinding silver, and she watched in horrified curiosity. She gasped in shock as it then suddenly cracked and exploded into a shower of silver dust.

Thalia staggered forward, her instinct to do _something_ overriding her duty, "Stay back!" Artemis snapped at the black haired girl.

She froze, "B-but, he's…what's happening? Is it the nectar? Is _this_ what happens when you drink too much?"

Artemis shook her head mutely as another scream echoed into the night, "No, this is something different. Something's wrong…_very_ wrong…with him"

All the other Hunters were staring in morbid shock at the thrashing boy. None had any love for members of the opposite gender, but neither did they take particular pleasure in seeing one who currently looked like he would be happier if someone set him on fire to dull the pain.

Tears were flowing down his cheeks and had apparently had no more strength to scream out in pain as Artemis approached him slowly, her hand reaching out.

Suddenly there was a screech in the air as Apollo's chariot screamed to a halt in the skies above. Obviously in too much of a haste to park, the Sun God had simply leapt out from the height of the treetops and landed with a burning flash in the middle of the clearing, "Stay back!" he immediately snapped at his sister. Somewhat at a loss for words, she complied and backed up a few paces.

Apollo approached the thrashing boy, shaking his head sadly, "Oh _Armani._What have you gone and gotten yourself into this time, eh?" If Armani Dove was aware of his presence he didn't show it.

The sun god's face became all business again and quickly peeled off one velvet glove and walked over until he was standing over the fallen child. He pointed his bare hand over the boy's chest and stopped as if waiting for something.

Apollo's body began to pulse with brilliant golden light and every pair of eyes reflexively averted themselves from the sun god, each knowing the sign of an Olympian about to return to their immortal form.

The clearing was suddenly illuminated by his divine light. It was only Artemis who could look upon him now and saw that it was only that hand that had reverted to its immortal state. It stayed that way as Armani flashed silver, and then, the instant he glowed gold again, the god plunged his insubstantial hand into the boy's chest. The golden light became blinding as Artemis watched Apollo send wave after wave of his own power into the boy's essence. His body glowed silver and the flow of energy intensified until that light was apparently dyed gold by Apollo's light. The sun god kept up this for a second longer, as if making sure of something, then yanked his hand free and it resumed its corporeal form.

Armani inhaled a massive breath of shock as his back arched one more time and then collapsed back into unconsciousness.

Apollo had replaced his glove in silence and was staring down at the silent form in thought. He seemed, Artemis realized, unhappy with something, as if whatever it was he did hadn't _quite_ had the result he had been hoping for.

"Damn it, Armani," he cursed quietly, then bent down without another word to collect the child.

"Wait!" Artemis snapped, "Who is he Apollo? _What_ is he?"

Apollo let out a sad breath, "It's none of your concern sis, and…it never will be." he added the last part in almost a pained whisper and then, with the child under his arm, turned, collected the boy's artifacts, and walked off. The chariot had lowered itself down to meet its master, and drove off into the night once he was aboard.

Artemis watched her brother disappear, then walked silently over to where Armani's bow had been and bent down to examine the silver dust that lay there. She stood up and walked back to her Hunters, observing the silver sand as she rubbed it between her fingers. Suddenly her fist clenched angrily.

"…Lady Artemis?" Thalia enquired uncertainly.

Artemis' arm returned to her side and let the dust fall free as she spoke, "The oath was only valid for tonight. I know Apollo will never answer me. He _delights_ in keeping from me the answers I desire most. But the boy…now _there_ is a much easier target… Thalia!"

"Yes?"

"Tell the others to gather their possessions, we're moving out early. I suddenly find this place too stained in the scent of outsiders to rest in it comfortably."

"At once, my lady," Thalia responded with a bow, but she didn't need to be telepathic to know her mistress' thoughts were now on other matters. She did _not_ envy Armani Dove should Lady Artemis catch up with him. She knew that, sooner or later, Lady Artemis _always _caught her prey.

-A-

I regained consciousness as Apollo slammed the door of the condo overlooking the bay that I called home. I was too tired to care about the scolding that was about to come, but I spared a moment to reflect on the night…

A good hunt and a totally mismatched-but quite exhilarating-fight to top it off…all in all I'd call it a decent night's work. However I didn't _feel_ good about it. I rarely did afterwards. The exultation and enjoyment was all but forgotten, like a dream, swallowed by the tear and engulfed by the pain. I didn't make any move to notify Apollo that I was awake, but I suspect he knew, he always knew.

As we entered the living area, he tossed me unceremoniously onto the sofa as he passed. The first sign he wasn't in a good mood. The second being that he was now staring out of the large glass windows muttering Greek curses to himself whilst gripping the lapels of his suit jacket in front of him so hard I was pretty sure I could smell burning silk.

He didn't speak for a moment, probably wondering if I would speak first, "Well?" he enquired, not turning round. I could see his smoldering eyes in his reflection in the glass.

"Well _what_?"

"You went… _Hunting_." It wasn't a question.

"I did. The pain would have come tonight one way or another, I could feel it. If I was going to experience that agony I thought I may as well do one of the few things that bring me pleasure in this world."

Apollo swung about angrily, the action leaving a nasty scorch mark in the carpet. "You _knew?_ And you didn't think to tell me?" he demanded. I could feel the force of the sun god's fury but I forced it aside, my own anger surfacing.

I didn't trust myself to stand so I settled on stabbing a finger at him, "_YOU_ were out doing your best to sire your latest half-blood! How was I supposed to call you for help? Last I checked gods don't _carry_ cell phones!" I noticed that he did reign his temper in somewhat. He had obviously had this thought earlier tonight.

"All right, but then _why_ did you take it upon yourself to pick a fight with _Artemis_?"

"That _brat_ refused to let me leave! At the risk of sounding petulant: she started it!"

I regretted my choice of words as Apollo's anger rose a notch. "First of all, my little sister is _not_ a brat. She is merely somewhat sensitive, a trait which I personally find quite endearing-"

"-_ I_ find your obsession with your twin sister quite _disturbing_." This had obviously struck another nerve as, in a blur of movement, he had grasped his bow and loosed a golden arrow, which embedded itself in the couch a centimeter from my head. I didn't flinch; it wasn't the first time he had done this, but then, you can't teach an old god new tricks. Next will come the idle threat...

"If you were _anyone_ else, know there wouldn't be an _atom_ left intact of you for a remark like that. Not even my _own_ _children_ would've escaped my anger!"

I rolled my eyes, "Yes Apollo, but I'm _not_ one of your own children am I? Certainly not, you spend _far _too much time with me!" The sunlight burned across his eyes now. I sighed. "Look, are we going to posture all night? You won't hurt me and probably, for some odd reason, never will. So where were we?"

I watched as Apollo reigned in his temper but the frustration of a god desperate to smite someone was clear, "You provoked her, didn't you?"

"The provocation was mutual, she doesn't especially _like_ boys, did you know that?" I was being sarcastic, but he rarely noticed.

"I did, _that's_ why I had her make that oath."

"Ahh _yes, _the oath that _still_ permitted her to kick the living stuffing out of me. Thanks for that."

"I figured it best you collapse in a place where they were at least under oath not to kill you and where I could find you easily rather than me _sensing_ what was happening to you and _still_ having to go dig through the bushes looking for you."

I accepted his logic glumly, and then he asked me a most peculiar question.

"My sister, what did you think of her?" He enquired with a raised eyebrow.

My eyes narrowed, I had lived with Apollo long enough to know there was usually a deeper meaning behind anything he said. I answered in a guarded tone, "an adept fighter. Short tempered, but then considering she's an Olympian that's unsurprising, no offence"

He inclined his head at the obvious truth, "none taken, go on"

"And that's about all I could gauge; she fights, she kills, she hates half the human race…"

Apollo objected quickly as if genuinely trying to convince me, "There's more to her than that! _Much _more; she's not a … not a bad person."

I inclined my head. "_Technically_-"

"If you say 'technically she's not a person at all' I will _hurt_ you." I closed my mouth, but had to ask:

"Why do you _care_? Something tells me this has more to do than you asking me just to tell you how _great_ your sister is."

That threw him off, instead of answering my query he merely turned to leave, "Just go to bed Armani, you'll need your rest after tonight."

As soon as his hand touched the doorknob I spoke up, "I'm dying… aren't I?" My tone was calm and neutral; deep inside, I knew the answer. But I had to hear it.

He turned back; he had put on the mask of the light-hearted fool he delighted in playing. "What, are you mad? Of course not! Every time that keeps happening, I'll just fix you up so… You know… _Chill._" he said this with as convincing a smile as possible.

"The tear's getting bigger," I responded in the same tone. His eyes widened and I knew: whatever it was (he called it the rip in my existence) he _knew_ what I was talking about. His confident mask melted, and now that he was listening I elaborated, "The time between bursts after you _heal me_ is getting smaller and the pain is getting worse. Before, it would only come from one place; a leg, an arm, etcetera. But it spread, and now it opens up all over. It feels like I'm bursting at the seams."

Apollo's expression was unreadable as he spoke, "The _pain_ is caused by the essence in your body from your Olympian parent at war with my own; that is, the part of my essence that I'm using to seal what you call the _tear. _Every so often your parent's essence reaches up and rebels, forcing out my energy like a disease that's foreign to the body. It used to be easy; a small patch job and you were fine. But now the tear's grown _with_ you, and is all-encompassing now that you've almost come of age."

"So I was correct?"

Apollo regarded me, his expression again unreadable. "Yes, you are dying," he said in an emotionless tone.

I felt oddly calm at having it confirmed. "I see."

Apollo nodded, "When the rejection reaches the point when my patch fails entirely and the tear reaches critical intensity, your life force will bleed out in every direction and that will be that. You will simply…fade."

I nodded, "and how long until this 'critical point' is reached?"

This time he did seem unhappy, as he averted his eyes when he answered, "Over three years ago."

My eyes widened a tad there. "So you're saying-"

"My essence is the only thing holding you together right now. And the more you use your power as a half-blood, the more the rejection kicks in and the less time you have. You see, the more accustomed to your power you become, the more your body becomes identified with it and the more it will learn to reject mine." He laughed ironically, "See, being the god of healing _does_ have its uses."

I inclined my head; I had accepted my own short mortality long ago so I felt oddly content with the conversation, "How long? Are we talking years?" I asked as the bottom line. He remained silent. "Months…" He remained silent still. Suddenly a knot formed in my gut.

He appeared genuinely uncomfortable with answering, but knew he had to. He inhaled a deep breath, then spoke, "Assuming you don't go out, don't summon your bow and _don't_ go hunting…you have at best a month left in you before my patch fails entirely."

I smiled a small sickly smile. "So you're saying that this was-"

He nodded. "Yes, this was the last time I could do it; in fact I barely succeeded this time around."

"And if, say, I chose to go all-out and hunt?"

"More than likely it would kill you if you overexerted yourself to any degree while doing it."

I did the only thing I could do, and nodded again. "I'd say the Underworld awaits, but…" I rested my hand on my chest and looked down. This was the part Apollo that seemed to upset Apollo the most, as his voice was shaking as he spoke and I could feel what he was about to say, deep in my core.

"It's not just your body that's fading, Armani, it's bound to your soul. When you fade, your soul will die with you." At this point his eyes actually looked quite moist and it shocked me that he was genuinely upset. I suppose even gods mourn the passing of that which should be immortal.

I felt as numb as always. "No more pain, one way or the other…"

"Do you _want_ to die?" he asked with genuine curiosity.

I pondered the question for a moment, "No. But I've never been particularly fond of being alive, either."

Apollo shook his head. "You never should have been born… I'm so sorry." believe it or not, this was actually him trying to console me.

_Never should've been born..._

I smiled sadly. That was the truth of my whole existence; the feeling I had about myself all my life. "Don't be, although there is one question I feel I must ask."

Apollo inclined his head for me to continue.

"Why is it Lady Artemis doesn't know I was born?" at that Apollo's head snapped around in shock. I felt a small smile twitch at my lips. "I sensed it; the call. It wasn't just _in _her, it _was _her. She anticipated my every move as if she would've made it herself…and her eyes were just like my own, in more ways than just color. My power…my essence…could only have come from _her_. Granted, she's only the second Olympian I've met, but I know when I'm right."

Apollo was smiling slightly too. "You always _were_ far too perceptive for your own good."

I laughed ironically. "So that annoying little twelve-year-old-"

"-_happens _to be your mother," Apollo finished, letting me off with the annoying remark.

My brow furrowed in confusion. "I thought Artemis was a virgin," I enquired. The prospect of her as my progenitor was preposterous at best, but something told me it was true. Apollo, however, looked offended that I would even question the fact I had just stated.

"She is!"

"And she doesn't know I was ever born?" I proposed.

"Nope."

I rubbed my brow in exasperation. "Apollo, did Zeus ever have 'the talk' with you? Do you _know_ how babies are made and how they come out? Trust me; mothers tend to notice the second bit!"

Apollo groaned in exasperation. "Let me just assure you; both your conception _and_ birth were immaculate, _so_ immaculate my sis didn't even know what happened"

Putting aside my immediate and unavoidable demise, I decided to ask. I wasn't one to die in ignorance, after all. "And what exactly _did_ happen?"

Apollo sighed, "Perhaps I should tell you in the morning. Maybe you should get some sleep…"

I could tell the sun god was weary but I didn't feel like letting up just yet. "Apollo, I'm measuring my life expectancy in _hours_ now so I'd rather not waste eight of them unless it's absolutely necessary."

He gave a defeated sigh. "Very well. You'd best make yourself comfortable Armani." I didn't budge, since I was already sprawled out on my back. "Okay then, let me ask you, Armani Dove... What do you know about Midas?

_To be continued…_

-XA-

[A/N] Not really that much to say, I only modified the beta a little bit to my taste but otherwise kudos to Shrrgnien. I'll probably be redoing the next chapter later on, the rest of the chapters will be reuploaded soon.

See you in Chapter 2: Birth

(I'm feeling quite nostalgic going back through this again….)


	2. Chapter 2: Birth

[A/N] And thusly I find myself reuploading chapter 2. Props again to Shhrgnien for the rewrite.

Same perspective rules as chapter one plus for flashbacks:

_Armani Talking_

**Apollo Talking**

**Broken Bow**

**Chapter 2: Birth**

"Midas…coming from the ancient Greek meaning _be careful what you wish for._"

"Be serious, Armani, do you want to hear the story or not?"

I sighed drearily, I'm sure he was going somewhere with this, "_Fine. _Midas, former king of Pessinus: discovered the Satyr schoolmaster of Dionysus and so treated him with hospitality for ten days and nights after he had gotten lost. On the eleventh day he was then returned to Dionysus himself who in return granted Midas the power to turn everything he touched into gold as his chosen reward. Somethingwhich, I might add, was somewhat short-sighted of both him _and_ the god, as he then went on to turn everything he touched, including his own _daughter,_ into gold."

Apollo inclined his head. "Carry on."

I sighed again, obviously I hadn't hit the mark yet. "After realizing his horrible mistake and the obvious problem of being unable to _eat,_ he prayed to Dionysus to undo the wish. Dionysus, in his _infinite _wisdom and kindness, told him how to remove it: by bathing in the River Pactolus. After which Midas became a devout follower of Pan in repentance for his ways." I noticed Apollo had his eyes narrowed at me. "_What_?"

"You speak as if it was all the fault of the gods. Dionysus didn't make the wish, he only granted it."

"He could've at least showed Midas where the off switch was."

"Then he wouldn't have really learned anything, now, would he?"

"Tell that to his daughter!"

Apollo groaned. "Just keep going."

I rolled my eyes and continued, "Of course, then comes the next thing he was most famous for. At one point he was present when his new god chose to have the Olympian equivalent of a _jamming session _and-" I froze in mid-sentence; I had a sinking suspicion as to where this was going. I narrowed my eyes at the sun god.

Apollo looked somewhat bewildered. He was trying to play innocent and, to be honest, was failing dramatically. "_What?_"

I frowned deeply but never took my eyes off him as I spoke. "—and he dared to give a _certain_ _deity_ some constructive criticism. Said deity, in return, gave him a pair of donkey ears."

Apollo slammed his fist into the coffee table with such force it burst into ash. "_Constructive criticism?_ He couldn't have been more insolent if he hit me over the head with my own _lyre_! Just because he was a follower of Pan he tried to humiliate me in front of everyone present, including Tmolus, who had _kindly_ taken time off for the day to play umpire! There's such a thing as supporting your own team and then there's just being plain _rude!_" That's the thing about gods; insults tend to stay fresh in their memories millennia later.

I raised one auburn eyebrow. "Look me in the eyes, _uncle,_ and tell me you didn't overreact just a tad."

Apollo froze. "You called me uncle… But anyways, _no._ I think it was a perfectly fitting and wonderfully poetic piece of justice dispersed by yours truly."

There was no talking to a god who was convinced he was right. "Yes, yes, and from there on his life took a bit of a downturn: he couldn't live with them so he wore huge turbans and other large headdresses to disguise their presence. How he continued to _hear_ bewilders me. Anyway; the only person who knew was his hairdresser, who was sworn to secrecy. But even _he_ couldn't keep such a juicy bit of gossip to himself so he dug a hole, whispered the secret that 'King Midas has donkey-ears' into it and covered it up. However, _mysteriously,_ reeds then grew in that _exact spot_ and whispered those words over and over to all who passed." I turned back to Apollo. "I couldn't _imagine_ who orchestrated _that_ feat of absurdity."

Apollo merely shrugged. "Persephone owed me a favor."

"Couldn't you have just left him alone? You'd already condemned him to a life of terrible head accessories." It was more a statement of exasperation than an actual question, so I didn't expect a decent answer in response and neither did I wait for one. "But I don't see what Midas has to do with anything; he's quite literally ancient history."

I noticed Apollo shift nervously, an odd sight to see on a god. "Not _quite_ ancient history; he did make a _little_ ripple a few years back."

I gritted my teeth. "And how long, _pray tell_, is a 'few years'?" I had a damn sure idea what the answer was.

He was looking even more nervous now, "Hmm, about fifteen, maybe sixteen."

I felt the emotion drain from my face, I had a feeling before my uncle was finished explaining himself I was going to be very, very angry. "Are you _implying-" _Apollo cut me off with a raised hand.

"It's…complicated_._"

"I'm all ears, Apollo."

"A pun?"

"Small one."

"Anyway, as you might have guessed, Midas died alone, disgraced and cursing all the gods who had made his life a living hell."

"Not entirely unjustified, but carry on," I felt I had to interject.

Apollo sighed and went on, "Anyway, next thing you know he's cursing the gods all the way through the underworld check-in area and…Well… he _kind of_ made a somewhat derogatory remark that disputed Lord Hades' ability to sire any more half-bloods, which was overheard by a kindly one passing overhead and…"

I groaned. "Let me guess: Fields of Punishment?"

"He was frisked down and hauled off faster than you can say jackass."

"And that was the end of Midas…or not?"

Apollo nodded silently, "This is where our story begins…"

"Proceed." to be honest I _was_ getting tired and somewhat impatient.

"Right, just a moment, I have to set the mood…" And with that his lyre appeared out of thin air. I breathed a sigh as he began to play. "_There once was a king named Midas-"_

"STOP!" I snapped.

Apollo glanced up, "What?"

"You're _not _singing the story of my birth. You can play your little harp-"

"-_Lyre_!"

"Whatever. But _no _singing and in the name of Gaia herself, _no rhyming_!" I did notice he looked quite dejected at that; after all, songs and stories were his thing. I breathed another sigh, "Actually I'd really like you to keep playing, so do it as you talk."

He seemed happy with that, and in truth I sort of did always like his music. He nodded and began to strum on his lyre, the music washing over me like a warm blanket. "Okay, now just relax, listen to the music and look _deeply _into my eyes."

"I asked you to tell a story, not try and seduce me." He didn't respond with anything but an angry glare. It made me shudder slightly and led me to assume this was important.

So I looked, and in there I saw images, dancing with the music and running into my head like a river. I suddenly realized I couldn't look away.

His voice was ghostly and almost musical, as if he were pushing his own mental images into my head, using the tune as a path.

"As I was saying, this is the tale of Midas' vengeance upon the gods, or to be more precise…on me."

"I knew it…" I muttered without breaking eye contact. Apollo cursed something in one of the older Greek dialects, and without another word, began his tale.

**-****Flashback-**

The image of a huge cavern with an ominous dark pit at its centre flowed to life as Apollo spoke to the entranced half-blood.

**It all began here, in Tartarus. As you know the lord of time was slowly extending his influence outside of the pit for years before he finally made his move; twisting and manipulating the minds of others. If anything, everything that follows is merely a result of that influence simply testing it's own limits to prepare for what was to come.**

_What does Kro-_

**Do not invoke his name, Armani, even now.**

_Fine, okay; what does__…__Voldemort have to do with Midas?_

**I'm getting to that, as you know Midas was here- **The image shifted to a man in a desolate place. People were screaming and moaning in desperation, each going through what appeared to be very personalized methods of torture. **This is-**

_I can guess._

**Right, anyways, take a look-**the image shifted and focused on a man in tattered and muddied robes; the remnants of a turban were haphazardly wrapped around his head in a vain and unsuccessful attempt to hide a pair of donkey ears. He seemed to be in the desperate process of running to a well with a bucket, running back, and trying to empty the contents of it over a large statue of some sort; but the bucket was solid gold and so were the contents; all around the area were littered golden cylinders, obviously formed from the water frozen to gold. He would then, sobbing, run back to the well, lower it down and, when he pulled it up, it was wood once again. He would then rush hurriedly back to the statue but by the time he reached it the bucket and water were gold once again. Armani watched as he would occasionally try simply _hurling_ the water from the well side, but it always stopped just short. The image arched to show the statue for a moment; it was gold, in the shape of a beautiful young girl in frozen flowing robes, her arms extended as if to hug something.

_Is that__…_

**Yes, that's Midas' daughter****…**** And also his torment. The well contains a never-ending spring of water from the River Pactolus. Hades had his golden touch restored and made irreversible and set him the task of restoring his frozen daughter by means of the well water using only that bucket.**

_Harsh_. _But why doesn't he just give up?_

**Because then he would expose himself to every other horror the fields have to offer, the only protection he has is to continue the task set to him by Hades, for all eternity, or at least until Hades forgives him.**

_So__…__for all eternity then._

**Yes****…**** But watch.**Suddenly the pathetic, weeping form of Midas froze, bucket overhead, and began glancing around. Then he simply looked to the side, as if someone were whispering something conspiratorial in his ear. In fact a small mumbling could indeed be heard in the air around him.

_I'm assuming this is Darth Vader doing his thing_.

**Well, yes. Keep in mind I wasn't actually there. This is just a simulation taken from witness accounts from various souls and creatures who were witness and then given my own interpretation.**

_So this isn't actually what happened as much as it is what you THINK happened_.

**No, this all happened! I've just taken everything and put it together for family viewing. Haven't you ever seen one of those crime shows, you know, with all the reconstructions? I did say, after all, that it was the story of how you came about, not the CCTV recording of it.**

_Accepted, moving on._

The image shifted as the form of Midas, as if in a daze, began to limp slowly away from his well-beaten back and forth path. A hellhound trotted in front of him and Midas froze. He then began mouthing something, and a second later the dog sat on its belly as Midas climbed on its back and muttered something again. The hound shot off like lightening across the fields, with Midas on its back.

_What did he do?_

**I cannot be sure, but people say he said something in one of the oldest of the old dialects that even I know not of and the beast simply bent to his will.**

_More of__…__My great grandfather's doing?_

**Words that old could only have come from the depths of the pit and it's not the last of the spells the Lord of Time gave to him; watch-**again the image shifted, this time to the edge of the pit of Tartarus; Midas stood on the edge, his arms spread out as if waiting for something to embrace him. A heavy murmuring was in the air, chanting.** It was all part of the deal, I assume. **Suddenly Midas began to change. His tattered robes regained their color and fixed themselves and his body fattened up until he was as well-toned as a thirty-year-old and his skin a healthy, rich color. **And this must've been the icing on the cake- **Slowly Midas removed his hat and began to fearfully pat his head, which was now minus the donkey ears. Obviously elated he began to shamelessly dance a jig on the edge of Tartarus.

_What happened?_

**The Titan Lord transformed him into a shade; a sort of living dead, powerful stuff. Creates a sort of temporary shell that allows a soul to exist outside of the underworld without, you know, dissolving into dust. But at a price, of course.**

_Which is?_

**The instant a shade leaves the underworld it can never return; also, should the shade's shell be destroyed, the soul crumbles along with it. It never ages, never changes, but it is essentially a jazzed-up walking bottle for holding a soul****…**** A temporary bottle.**

_He seems happy especially for someone who just set a time limit on their existence._

**Hmm****…****well, he was a broken man anyway, and to get to choose between a temporary reprieve, revenge and then sweet oblivion or continuing his eternal damnation, it must've been an easy choice to make****…**

Suddenly the elated Midas stopped his celebrations, listening, as if something had shouted angrily in his ear. An evil smile spread slowly across his face and he nodded and seconds later there was more murmuring. An instant after that the form of Midas shimmered and vanished. **Before you ask, I don't know, this was old stuff he was using from before I was even born and was given my dominion. I can only assume it was some kind of banishing technique used specifically for getting rid of shades from the underworld.**

_And you know this how?_

**There were no records of Midas attempting to break out of Hades through the main entrance. Charon may be the most disgruntled worker in the underworld but I'm sure he would've kept a note of something like a shade hijacking his boat.**

_Makes sense, so where do we pick him up next?_

**Well here's the problem, and so what happens up until the important bit is a bit of extrapolation, so excuse the blurry pictures and stuff because I'm working only on assumption here.**

_You mean you're making it up!_

**I am **_**not**_**, and I'll explain why later.**

The image shifted to Midas, this time wearing a contemporary black business suit and talking to a blank-faced figure across a table.

_And this is?_

**All we know is this person had to be pure of heart and essence or else it never would've worked. I've tried to figure out who it was but there was simply never enough information.**

_What wouldn't have worked?_

_**This**__._ There was suddenly murmuring again in that old language and a small transparent crystal appeared in Midas' hand, surrounded by Mist. The other man reached out as if to shake Midas' hand, unaware of the item in the shade' other palm, which Midas grasped. Suddenly, he pulled the shadowy man towards him and, crystal in hand, drove it into the man's chest.

There was a spray of blood and his mouth opened in a soundless scream as a blinding blue light engulfed the area around the wound. Tendrils of that blue light spiraled from around the man's body and down around the crystal. The horror continued as the man's face turned pale, then ashen white and, seconds later, he erupted into a cloud of dust and bones, his business suit falling crumpled to the floor. Midas held in his outstretched hand that crystal. Only now it was pulsing with a beautiful blue light.

_W-what happened to him_?

**Isn't it obvious? Midas killed him. That crystal absorbed the very essence of his life and condensed it down into that form. He probably didn't need to take all of it, just a small portion, but I guess he wanted to be sure.**

_And how do you know he took that much?_

**I estimated that based on how much was released when I first saw it that it could've only been a person's complete essence. If it's any consolation the poor guy's soul wouldn't have been destroyed, and since only a pure essence would do I'd hedge my bets that whoever he was, he's living it up in Elysium right now.**

_Living it up?_

**You know what I mean. Now shut up, this is the important bit.**

_Sure ignore the dead guy__…__ Wonder how Midas got so close to someone who was 'pure'? I doubt they'd get along._

**Well he was a king, and if the shade was him restored to his prime, well, I'd bet he'd have all the cunning of a politician. Or perhaps our dead friend was just a **_**trusting**_**, pure sort of guy.**

_You mean a moron._

**Don't speak ill of the dead, Armani. And like I said, shut up and pay attention.**

_Fine._

Again the image in Apollo's and Armani's mind changed. This time it showed a hilltop looking over the seas on a perfect moonlit night. A stone alter stood at its top, adorned with a tablecloth and various food and drinks. Scattered about the hill were the Hunters of Artemis, obviously enjoying themselves. Lady Artemis herself was visible on the edge of the clearing, speaking happily to a girl with a silver circlet on her head.

_What are they celebrating?_

**The annual solar eclipse of 1994.**

_Annual eclipse? Aren't those practically invisible?_

**It's purely symbolic. Honestly, any excuse to play in the woods.**

_And this is another 'simulation'?_

**Nope, this is all first person. I'm actually watching this through a pair of enchanted binoculars.**

_And you were doing this why?_

**Merely performing my duties as a dedicated big brother.**

_You mean you were spying on her._

**I was **_**not**_**. As a matter of fact, I knew I had to be present on this night.**

_Oh? And how might that be?"_

**Hello? God of Prophecy here, I thought we'd met. It's not often I get a clear prophecy that involves me directly. I saw an image of my sister in trouble tonight and I knew I was involved somehow. And so here I am.**

_Moving right along._

_**Right, watch this bit.**_The image focused as the Hunters, suddenly spooked, went for their blades as a dark figure strode calmly out of the forest and into the middle of the group. Within seconds he was surrounded. Arrows and sword points aplenty were at his throat.

_Midas? Moth- Artemis should've sensed him coming, though!_

_**Shh! Shade, remember; not a part of nature.**_The image zoomed in as the brown haired girl with the circlet approached him.

"The Lady Artemis demands you identify yourself and why you would dare to violate her encampment," she said coldly.

Midas gave an extravagant bow, a warm smile on his face, "I am but a humble messenger who has been tasked on this wonderful night to purvey a token of appreciation from the wife of my Lord Hades."

Artemis herself spoke up. "I sense nothing within you. What in the name of the Underworld are you?"

"But a mere shade, great lady Artemis. I am here merely to convey the appreciation of my lady Persephone for your services to the nature she yearns for during the winter months."

"And why, pray, did she not come in person?"

Midas' smile didn't falter. "She begs your forgiveness, my lady, for she was indisposed."

"Oh? In what way?"

"It is not for me to either know or say. I know only a shade or a god could have delivered this particular token."

Artemis' eyes narrowed at Midas, "Very well, shade, show me this gift."

Midas extended his hand and opened it; within was the blue crystal containing the stolen life force. Artemis nodded to the girl at her side, who then approached to take it. Midas suddenly cupped his hand over the crystal and cradled it towards himself like it was the most precious thing in the world. He immediately took on a submissive posture. "Forgive me Lady Artemis, but should this be touched by any living being, even an immortal huntress, they would surely be destroyed. It would surely be a great tragedy to be responsible for the death of one so noble." He gave a respectful nod to the girl with the circlet before turning back to Artemis. "It contains pure energy to help you with your duties, and cannot be touched by any other but yourself."

"Is that so?"

Midas was groveling very convincingly by now. "I pray you let me approach and present this token so my task may be completed and this worthless form can at last return to his rest."

_Don't tell me she'd be so stupid as to-_

"Very well, you may approach."

_Zeus' beard. She's not the brightest deity is she?_

**It's not entirely her fault; she could probably sense the energy in that thing and she could definitely sense he was dead. Anyways, keep watching; this is it.**

Midas approached Artemis reverently, her Hunters having backed away at her command. He stopped a foot from her, hand extended. Artemis extended her own to take the gem when she was suddenly grasped by Midas with his other and dragged forward.

He crushed the crystal in his palm. A blue orb of energy swarmed about his hand, and he thrust into the goddess' lower chest.

There was no blood. Instead there was a burst of golden light as Artemis' essence was torn open. It engulfed the blue light. Artemis' mouth was open as if she was screaming. The hunters were trying to aim their bows, but were having difficulty, as they dared not look into the exposed section of Artemis lest the sight of her destroy them. One had stepped forward to grab Midas but was repelled through the air by a thread of gold and blue energy, the shockwave sending the other Hunters hurtling to the ground.

After a second Midas tore his hand free and Artemis staggered back a step, her hand on her uninjured chest.

In Midas' hand, where once was a small swirl of energy the size of a lemon, he now held a huge oval of silver-white light the size of a football. He swiftly began muttering and didn't stop, even as an arrow pierced his back, followed by another and another, each hitting him at various fatal points with perfect precision and inhuman speed.

_Who's that?_

**Ahh, good old Zoë Nightshade. Poor girl. Died a few years ago****—****she was killed by her Titan father. Artemis turned her into the constellation of the Huntress as a reward for her two millennia of service.**

_Huh, I was wondering where that came from__…_

The arrows were not working. So Artemis, having snapped herself out of it, grabbed her sword and, with one elegant movement, tore it free of its scabbard and decapitated the Midas shade. His head spun through the air, a sick smile on his face.

Whatever he was doing was obviously finished, as the white orb in his now-limp arms shimmered and shot off into the night sky. His body swiftly shriveled, turning to bones and then dust that blew away into the wind.

"Lady Artemis!" Zoë sounded panicked as she ran to her mistress' side.

"I am fine, Zoë… Just a little…drained" Artemis said as she stared down at the scattered dust and then off in the direction the light had disappeared.

"What did that _thing_ do to you?"

"I've lost a small amount of my essence. Worry not, I will recover in time. It is no different than you losing some stamina. Fetch me some ambrosia, Zoë, and I should be fully recovered within an hour."

"At once, my lady."

_And she just dropped the issue?_

**Of course not, she later demanded an explanation of Persephone. Threats were exchanged and after giving an oath on the River Styx and confirming Midas was indeed gone, the blame was put entirely on Hades for letting a soul escape the Fields of Punishment, and he in turn blamed Charon, who in turn got a pay cut. He's been taking it out on every soul that passes his way ever since**_._

_Poor guy._

**Quite, and it pretty much stopped there. At least for everyone else, that is.**

**I take it we now get to the crux of the issue? To be honest my eyes are starting to sting.**

**Yeah, yeah, almost finished. **The image changed to follow the ball of energy which was streaking through the air like a comet. From the perspective of Apollo at the time the image shook and there was a sound of shattering glass.

_What's happening?_

**The ball of energy was aimed directly at me. I've got to assume that was the purpose of Midas' last incantation.**

_An Apollo-seeking missile?_

**Pretty much. **The image changed to Apollo climbing out of a slightly dented sun chariot which, as if to personify the damage, had transformed itself into an 80's station wagon.

_You crashed the sun chariot?_

**Hey! I was hit! Totally not my fault.**

_You'll lose your no claims bonus for that._

**Just shut up and watch**_._ It had changed back to a third person view. Apollo, complete with blonde mullet and cut-off jeans, was walking around his chariot, apparently surveying the damage that wasn't visible to human eyes, when he noticed something; he approached a perfectly hemispherical crater in the earth behind the chariot's rear bumper. It was glowing with that same queer light. After a second it died down and as Apollo approached, his brow knit in curiosity, he bent down to investigate to discover what now lay there: a bundle, wrapped in silver cloth emblazoned with a stag and drawn bow with arrow, glinting in the moonlight and seemingly emitting its own silvery glow. His face took on a mask of utter disbelief as he picked up the bundle which turned out to be a slumbering infant, a small wisp of caramel-colored hair visible on his head. The image then evaporated into golden light...

-A-

"You never cried…" Apollo said suddenly as if it was important.

"Excuse me?" I asked drearily, rubbing my eyes as if awaking from a dream.

"Your mother, when she was younger, she would always cry and always go running right back to daddy's knee at the slightest thing. In a way she hasn't changed at all…" He sounded quite melancholy as he spoke.

I remained silent; I wasn't in the mood to discuss that particular subject. I waited as my mind digested all the information he had just fed me then waited for my uncle to continue.

Apparently sensing me waiting, he began speaking, "Of course, it didn't take too long to figure out what had happened. Midas combined the life essence of your father, may his soul rest in Elysium, with that of my sister. It's essentially the way all half-bloods are conceived; the actual physical genetic material is a moot factor. It is the combination of the life essence of the mortal and the god. The birth is all entirely individual and is also a moot point; just look at how Athena kids are born; right out of the noggin for crying out loud! Anyways, he combined the two long enough for them to mix and form _your_ life essence.

"Are you saying I'm the divine equivalent of a test tube baby?" I asked.

Apollo seemed pleased with my analogy. "Precisely_. _Not the conventional way for a god to have a child, but then it's the only way Artemis, a virgin goddess, _could_ conceivably…well, _conceive."_

"Except…" This was the part I wanted to know. And Apollo knew what I was talking about.

"_Except_… You weren't finished. Midas tore you free from Artemis possibly a split second too soon. And when he ripped you free your life force was torn right open in the process."

"How long have you known?"

"Since the instant I laid eyes on you. I could see it-God of Healing, like I said…right there on your shoulder was where it started. Just a tiny imperfection, but I knew what it was and I knew from the instant you were born that your time was limited. As you grew and your essence became stronger it made the tear larger and, well… You know the rest."

"So Midas screwed up in the end after all."

I watched as Apollo shook his head. "_No_, I don't think he did. I think it's exactly what he intended."

"_What_?" I gasped, and I noticed once again Apollo looked solemn.

"You were never _meant_ to last, Armani. You were created by Midas as a burden for me to echo his own from the Fields of Punishment."

I didn't have the words to speak so I allowed him to continue.

"He _knew_ I was the lord of healing, and he _knew_ I would do everything in my power to keep you alive…he also knew I would fail."

"How did he know? For all he knew you might have just left me with some children's…" I paused as it hit me and nodded in realization. "Ah _yes_…because I'm your sister's-"

"-My love for my sister is well known, even amongst mortals and the dead. How could I not at least _try_ to save my sister's child, her _only_ child? But I knew I would fail as much as Midas knew the next time he went to throw that bucket of water over his daughter that she wasn't coming back to him. I would fail and there wasn't a thing I could do about it. How about that, huh? After all these millennia…in the end… Midas won. And all this because the Titan Lord wanted to test the playing fields."

That however begged one important question. "Why didn't you just _tell_ Artemis about me?"

Apollo averted his eyes, "Artemis, your _mother,_ was never very predictable. She's the one girl in all of creation I could never quite pin down. And there was no way of me knowing just how she was going to react when she found out about you…"

"You're saying you thought there was a chance that Artemis would kill me if she knew," I interrupted suddenly and Apollo's lack of a sudden rebuttal to his sister's defense was all the confirmation I needed. Strangely, it didn't make me feel sad, just the same way I usually felt…numb.

"And I couldn't risk that. It was the one blood in the world she couldn't stain her hands with. Not her. I love her too much to allow her to make such a mistake as to kill her own child in a fit of anger."

"Better she never know she had one at all…" I observed.

"I'm sorry, Armani. I would genuinely like to say I stuck by you all these years for your sake. But I'm not a selfless god; it was all out of my vain love for my sister and my need to be the elder, superior one… I'm sorry."

I smiled sadly, "Don't be. I was _your_ burden, remember. Soon be over now uncle. None of this was ever your fault." Strangely, I felt I was consoling him. I suspected he was far more concerned over my demise than I was. And it was in that instant I realized just how much of a debt of gratitude I owed him. I only felt sadness for him then. Contempt for my own farce of an existence, and hatred too, hatred burned in me below the surface, hatred of a certain someone. The only thing covering it was my veil of calm; as thin and fragile as the one that had wrapped me as a baby. But gratitude was winning out tonight. It was a nice feeling.

"Hey uncle, what'd you say we have some fun before I head to bed? I think I'm up to just one last bit of exertion." I said this brightly, as I honestly wanted to cheer him up. Seeing the sun god gloomy was never nice.

He looked at me like a child whose parents had just let him stay up late after falling over and cutting his knee. "Guitar Hero?"

I breathed a sigh and smiled despite myself. I felt my anger lowering, taking the contempt with it, "_Yes, uncle_, Guitar Hero it is, then…" He literally glowed as he leapt up. Singing Dragonforce, he proceeded to dig out his favorite plastic guitar. In the meantime, my eyes were drawn inexorably toward the moon, which shone almost angrily through the bay windows. I prayed the music from the game would drown out the music in my head.

"Shut up, Artemis…" I muttered angrily and pulled myself up, resigned to another night of explaining to Apollo why 'Lyre Hero' would never be a hit.

-3-

"Lady Artemis, is this the place?" Thalia asked her mistress, who was currently staring down from the cliff on which they stood, watching luxurious sea-view condo with a large golden sun emblazoned above its front door.

"Yes. Apollo left earlier in his chariot to greet the dawn," she replied. They had found this place easily; it was one of the sun god's lesser-known hideaways, but of course Artemis knew of it, and she had a feeling her brother would keep the boy at one of his more out-of-the-way buildings. Thick Mist permeated the air; Apollo obviously wanted the place well hidden from prying eyes.

"Is he there?"

Artemis narrowed her eyes, "_Yes_. He is."

Thalia knew it was not wise to question a goddess, but she had to know. "How can you tell? I mean, isn't this one of Apollo's places? And I thought you couldn't see into one another's dominions without permission…"

"We can't. But the boy…there is something of the hunt in him," Artemis said in a curious tone, "Take two of your sisters and bring him before me Thalia. Take any necessary precautions to ensure you succeed."

"Of course, my lady." And with that she nodded to two of her fellow hunters, who grabbed their bows and followed.

-A-

I never liked the morning…

It did, after all, signify the end of the hunt. I knew this was just my gut telling me how to feel. I was a creature of the moonlight, and its retreat to make way for the sun always made me melancholy. I had woken up surprisingly early, considering how long I was up. Apollo can be _very_ convincing each time he says 'just one more song'; it is hard to resist the god of music's call.

I changed into a simple black t-shirt and jeans. Slipping on my shoes, I grabbed an energy shake on my way out the French doors leading to the beach. My muscles ached; I was still bruised all over, despite the effects of the nectar. I rubbed the large bruise that had formed overnight in the middle of my chest where Artemis kicked me. I grunted in discomfort as I sank down onto the sand.

_This is most definitely NOT Sparta__…_

More pop culture references; I had lived with Apollo far too long.

Strange how one reflects as they approach the end of their life. As down as the mornings made me feel, I'd never appreciated their beauty before. I gripped my knees and closed my eyes, letting the gentle sound of the waves lapping on the shore fill my ears; the moon and the tide… Artemis and Poseidon were working well together today. It was relaxing, to say the least: the gentle morning sun; the warm sand; the scent of salt and ozone in the air.

_Ozone?_

I breathed out a sigh, but didn't move. There was no point. I could feel them; echoes of the hunt Artemis had placed in each of them resonated in my gut like sonar. Two on the flanks and one right behind me. I was unarmed and weakened. Plus, for all I knew, if I summoned my bow and started fighting I'd more than likely kill myself in the process.

And so I just sat there and waited, enjoying the morning for just a _few_ more seconds.

-3-

Thalia waved the other two Hunters left and right, signaling them to flank the house from both sides; both were small and agile, a blonde girl who appeared no more than thirteen, the other a redhead who appeared about a year older, but she knew that meant nothing . As Hunters they could be five hundred years old. She also knew these two were a pair of Artemis' more hard-lined followers, especially on the whole _we hate boys_ stance. Which is why she chose them; if it got serious, she knew she would need someone who wouldn't hesitate. This also made them a liability, because if they got too excited and killed their prey then the mission was a failure. She had to capture the target as soon as possible.

She herself went right down the left side of the house and froze, pressing back against the wall, as the back door opened and their quarry came strolling right out.

She watched curiously as he slumped down into the sand, an almost regretful look on his face. Like a panther, she stalked out from behind the house and out onto the sands behind him.

She froze as he breathed a sigh, but did nothing else. She raised a hand to halt the others. Her brow knitted together; everything in her was _screaming_ that her presence had been discovered, but he made no move to defend, no dash to escape.

He didn't seem to have any of the energy of the hunter that had challenged her mistress the night before. Indeed, now he just seemed so totally…_resigned_.

"What's your name?" he enquired suddenly in a tone that didn't seem to disturb the silence around them. His head rose up slightly to watch a dolphin that was darting about in the waters just offshore.

Strangely, she found herself answering. "Thalia. Lady Artemis requests a moment of your time."

His head lowered back down, and she caught a side profile of his face for a second and noticed just how tired his silver eyes seemed, looking oddly dull in the morning light, "Yeah… I assumed as much," he said in that same tone.

Thalia strode forward and rested a hand at the base of his neck, he made no move to resist and strangely she found herself say the last two words she thought she would say in this situation. "I'm sorry…" She sent a surge of electricity through her hand and into the nerves at the base of his neck. He winced slightly and collapsed backwards.

The thrill and pride of capturing her prey or completing a mission for her goddess was nowhere to be found, no matter how much she willed it to appear. A hollow victory.

Steff, the redhead, strode over and stared down at the boy, kicking him unceremoniously and with a lot more force that was needed to turn him onto his back. Thalia found herself shooting her an angry glare.

She smirked down at the boy, "Is it unconscious?

"Yeah, he's out cold," she replied quietly.

"Pathetic; he didn't even _try_ to put up a fight, he's obviously got the senses of a drowned rat if he didn't see _that _attack coming," Aren, the blonde, commented.

"Don't be stupid," Thalia snapped angrily at the girl, her cockiness getting to her for some reason. "He knew I was coming and I'd be willing to bet he knew you two were there, too. The only reason things played out like this is because he _let it happen._"

Aren spat angrily, "_Yeah_? And why would it do that?"

Thalia said thoughtfully,"I'm not sure. It seemed like he just didn't care one way or the other…"

Stef smirked viscously, "That so? Well he's gonna care when Lady Artemis gets her hands on him. I'm betting she'll turn him into a rat."

Thalia simply rolled her eyes, bent down to throw the unconscious boy over her shoulder and headed back without another word.

-A-

I came through in a most uncomfortable position; tied upright to a tree, my hands bound behind me.

After shaking free the mental cobwebs, I found myself in the presence of a very unfriendly-looking audience. I was in a glade somewhere, but could still hear the ocean. I mustn't have been taken that far. I glanced up at the sky; the light hadn't changed much from what I remember, so I couldn't have been out that long either.

Finally I turned my attention to my silent spectators-only a dozen this time, but still equally unhappy as they were when I last saw them.

Suddenly a thought occurred that I felt I just _had_ to voice. "Thalia! Daughter of Zeus. Of course. Hang on… I thought you were a _tree_…"

"I got better," I heard her mumble dryly.

"Huh, that so?"

"Are you quite finished?" Thalia bowed out the way at the voice. And then I saw her, as pompous, scorning and self-righteous as always, "Pompous, am I?" The goddess enquired suddenly with a raised eyebrow.

I narrowed my eyes at her, but I kept my temper under control…for now. "You have your moments."

"I could kill you, you know. No oath is stopping me now. Would you care to beg me for forgiveness before I-"

"Shall we cut to the chase _Artemis_? As much as I'm sure you're desperate to prove your 'girl power' to me, I'm also sure there's far more to dragging me out here than some petty vendetta."

Her expression never changed, but you could tell by her eyes that her temper was boiling. Perfect, just what I wanted. "I was considering permitting you to leave unharmed if you cooperated, but-"

"-well that's a _lie_," I interrupted, but was silenced when a Hunter standing by me sharply backhanded me across the cheek. I groaned in pain and found her grasping my chin to face her.

"Apollo isn't here to save you _boy,_ so I suggest you show Lady Artemis the respect she deserves"

"Funny," I began, right into the redhead's face, "I thought I _was._" I smiled kindly as her face took on a look of sheer rage and reared back with her fist, obviously to do her best to separate me from some of my teeth.

"Steff." Artemis began, and the girl froze mid-swing. "Your dedication is touching, but I sense the boy is doing this intentionally to throw us off balance; kindly regain your composure." It was hardly a request and the girl clearly knew it.

Artemis approached me slowly with all the calm of a panther and regarded me critically. "What are you doing?"

"I don't quite follow," I replied blandly.

"You have the instinct of a hunter, and yet now your attitude borders on the suicidal."

"Well? What do you want? I'm just a boy; isn't it our _place_ to ridicule you and be the bane of your existence and pain all the billions of innocent females of the world?"

She remained infuriatingly stoic.

As if she didn't hear me she continued, "I have some questions that I wish to ask of you."

"That so?" I asked, glancing to the side. What could I say? 'Kill me if you like, it won't make a difference one way or the other?'

"And why is that?" She enquired suddenly, glaring down at me.

I cursed under my breath for letting my mind wander. She wasn't even trying; she was just standing there and waiting for me to assume her questions and think the answers, and she'd just scrape them off the surface of my mind.

_Blank out, don't think._

I inhaled a deep breath and fell silent. Slowly I let my memories of Apollo's song, his flawless lyre strumming fill my head and swim around in the emptiness there. I never took my eyes off Artemis. I said, "I feel an extra bruise forming on my side, tell me you didn't resort to _roughing_ _me up_ while I slept. Why don't you enlighten me; who's the spineless coward that's too afraid to face me while I'm awake?" I enquired in a cordial tone and I heard a hiss of rage from my side. I arched my head around the huntress in question, "You _again_? Well, I guess the ropes are the reason you have the guts to strike me while I'm awake, eh?" she didn't respond just averted her eyes in anger. I chuckled; enraging this bunch was easier than Guitar Hero on beginner-

_Damn it Apollo_.

Artemis' brow creased into an annoyed scowl, I felt a pressure in my head I hadn't noticed before lessen as she pulled back from my mind "So be it. I will ask. First: your bow, where did you acquire it?"

"Let _me_ ask _you_… What made you angrier?" I asked, a small smile twitching on my face.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm _asking _what made you angrier; the fact that man conquered the moon, or that they named the missions to do so after Apollo."

She inhaled a sharp breath, I could tell her anger was hanging by a thread, "I will ask you one more time, boy: _the bow._"

So that's what it was, dragged away just to sate her curiosity. "What bow?"

Her brow twitched, "The _bow_ you were carrying during our last encounter."

I frowned in mock confusion, "Bow, bow, which bow might that be?"

With a flick of her wrist and a flash of light, a familiar object materialized in her hand. "_This_ bow. Now answer me, boy!"

I concealed my shock; it _did _look just like mine. And to see her holding it sparked a new wave of anger, which I hurriedly trampled down. "Hmm…nope_,_ that's not mine, though it definitely _looks_ the same. It's almost as well made, if a little old and battered looking."

She recoiled in shock, and I watched as she hugged the weapon to herself like a child whose favorite doll had just been called ugly.

Rage crossed her face and I watched as she extended her hand towards me. I could tell she had clearly just passed her limit of patience. It's not like it mattered one way or the other...

Suddenly she froze, her bow disappeared in her hand, she stared at me with puzzled realization on her face. "You do not fear me."

I smiled ironically. "…_Actually_, as a matter of fact, I do."

"You know what I am capable of, do you not?"

"I do."

"Then why do you not fear me right now?"

"It is not_ you_ that I do not fear."

"And what, pray tell, _do_ you not fear?"

I paused for a moment, but chose to answer truthfully. "…Death"

"Then you are a fool," she said in a level tone.

I felt my rage bubble up and my teeth grind in my mouth as I heard myself laugh mirthlessly, "No, no, _Artemis,_ it is you who are the fool. You've been the fool all along; this entire sordid tale is all because of your error."

"_Excuse me?"_

My anger was starting to rise and I didn't think I could stop it. "This whole situation _is_ your fault, after all. It's _ALL _your fault! _EVERYTHING!_" I shouted the last part, my anger rising with every word I said. "You are the face that goes with my pain." This I said in a low, dangerous voice laced with such venom that it shocked even me.

Artemis started at me with shock. "Your emotions have changed since last night; surely an aborted fight would not have enraged you so. Tell me why I feel nothing but loathing and rage in your heart."

Her eyes were wide and it took me a second to realize my mind had slipped again for a second, "I…see…so that is the reason…you have my commiserations." And she actuallysounded genuine. I think that's what set me off…

_No__…__ Not pity__…__Hate me__…__Scorn me__…__ But don't you DARE take pity on me. You're everything that__'__s wrong with me, Artemis, and I may be about to end, but I swear I won__'__t let you take my hate too__…_

I laughed a dark laugh, "So now you know. And now you know there's nothing you can say or do to make me tell you what you want to know."

She seemed uncertain as to how to proceed. "Maybe, but there are ways, I assure you, of still making you answer my questions."

I smirked mirthlessly, "So that's the way it is. You can't get your answers out of your brother so you're going to _beat them_ out of a dying child. How noble of the great huntress."

She gasped. I had gotten to her. Not an easy thing to do to a god, but I suppose when you have nothing to lose it can be the easiest thing in the world.

I noticed Thalia glancing between us, "What does he mean, my lady?"

Artemis didn't take her eyes from me, "I cannot be sure, but I believe he is dying, Thalia."

And there it was again, that damned _compassion,_ and now it was in both of them.

And suddenly an irrational feeling welled up in me… a wild, magnificent, _trembling_ exultation as I realized something: I was going out, and there wasn't a damned thing I could do about it, and I suddenly realized I had no intention of simply sitting around and waiting for my time and my body to fade; if I was going out then I intended to go out fighting…

I called on my power and felt the light in my palm, which I effortlessly knitted into the form of a silver arrow behind my back. Its head sliced through the bindings as if they were air. Now all that held me were the ropes about my waist.

I gripped the arrow tightly and prepared myself. It was then that I made another mistake…

In that instant an image that Apollo had showed me flashed through my head unbridled; of Midas attacking Artemis. It was the focus of my rage at her and the reason that since our last encounter my opinion of her had changed from indifference to utter and barely disguised hatred.

Suddenly I saw the goddess' head whip back around to me, her eyes filled with shock. "What are you hiding from me? How do you know about that?"

I didn't raise my head. I just laughed, "You know what, _Artemis_? I _really_ don't feel like telling you." And with one movement I slashed upwards, slicing through the ropes and across the unprepared goddess' exposed right arm. She reared back with a cry of shock and pain as a small splatter of golden blood splashed over me.

I leapt to my foot and roughly grabbed hold of the Huntress called Steff, dragging her up to me and bringing the arrow to her throat; the meaning was clear. She struggled and I pushed the blade against her skin above her jugular. She froze instantly.

Artemis had a hand on her arm over her wound but had signaled her Hunters not to move; she knew one twitch of my wrist and we'd have one _dead_ Hunter.

"I swear I disarmed him, Lady Artemis," Thalia whispered.

"I've no doubt you did_…_" she began calmly, obviously trying not to aggravate me. "Where _did_ you get that?" she asked in an almost conversational tone.

I smiled a dangerous smile, "I needed an arrow, and so I had one. Surely you all know how that works, Lady Artemis." She just stared at me with an unreadable expression. No doubt her immortal mind was thinking up a billion different attack patterns and I knew it was going to be seconds before she picked the perfect one.

And so I acted. I shoved the huntress forwards. Using her lower back as a springboard I propelled myself backwards into the woods (also having the bonus of shoving her face first into the dirt; Artemis wasn't the only one who enjoyed childish payback) and then I was moving.

I heard shouts of orders and knew I had _seconds_ before I had one furious goddess and a dozen seriously ticked off super-powered teenagers on my tail.

I noticed my hand was trailing off an aura of golden smoke and light and I knew straight away what was happening: I had called an arrow and weakened Apollo's seal. I realized this must be the beginning of the final stage; the tear wasn't forcing Apollo's energy out, his power was simply melting away like a scab on healed tissue. I saw a golden film of energy move under my skin to cover the area the smoke had came from before fading. The power was spreading itself thinly over me to compensate, and I knew once that power was exhausted…well…that would be that.

I would've laughed at the irony had it not been so tragic: the last hunt of my life…and I was the prey.

_Run!_

_To be continued...  
_

-XA-

[A/N] That's all for this installment, I'll put up the beta for chapter 3 soon.

Coming up, Chapter 3: Crumbling


	3. Chapter 3: Crumbling

[A/N] And so I continue with the reupload, let's get right back into it…

**Broken Bow**

**Chapter 3: Crumbling**

-A-

I was in _trouble _now…

Thing about hunters, the Hunters of Artemis that is, is that they're _fast. _But thankfully they were merely a _part_ of the hunt. I, on the other hand, was _of_ the hunt, so I came up trumps there at least. So whilst I had a definite speed advantage on them it still left me with a few major problems: Number one: They were _armed_, and though they appeared to be missing on purpose in an attempt to startle me and slow me down (a tactic which was, unfortunately, starting to work) they would still best me if it came down to a close up fight. This was compounded by problem number two: Thalia. She was hurtling blasts of lightning into my path and I had to change course several times to avoid them. One had managed to send me spinning into the air, but luckily I had bounced off one hand and propelled myself right back onto my feet and was running again, losing no time but feeling quite dizzy as a result. And finally, the problem at the top of my list of worries right now (excluding, of course, my impending demise) was number three: Artemis herself.

Perhaps I should elaborate; I was _of_ the hunt. Artemis, on the other hand, _was_ the hunt. This meant it was _her_ game and there was no way of changing _her_ rules to make her the prey, it simply didn't work that way. She had already overtaken me twice and I had barely avoided her—once by bunny-hopping over her head (a tactic that seemed to have aggravated her, as the next arrow that was fired skimmed my right arm; I admired her for her restraint at least, she could've killed or at least paralyzed me with that shot); the second time, about forty seconds ago, I had evaded her by skidding to a halt, doubling back and taking a sharp left turn. But the gap between us was closing fast.

This was all postponing the inevitable; as long as I remained in the forest I knew I had seconds before she got me to the ground. I had managed to leave the rest of the Hunters behind. Slowing to fire arrows (or bolts of lightning) had cost them precious seconds. This lead to my one and only advantage; I knew the terrain _outside_ of the forests in this area better. And I knew I had one hope; to increase the distance between myself and Artemis. The legends of her speak for themselves; when it came to the hunt she wouldn't slow, she wouldn't falter, and she would _never_ give up. I had to get away from her, and I had to do it _now_.

_And then what?_

I knew what that thought meant; once I got away from Artemis, assuming I used up all my stamina and weakened Apollo's seal, well…I guess the answer would be obvious; I would die. But at least I would've beaten _her_.

_Focus_.

I discarded my thoughts of my very short future and concentrated on the here and now. Light was up ahead, I was nearly there…

My plan was simple. Step one: put distance between myself and the tiny terrors. Step two: get back to the condo and stock up. Step three: ...Well, I'd burn that bridge when I came to it.

I burst out of the trees and into the light exactly where I intended to be. I immediately felt myself slow as I left the domain of Artemis, landing square on a footpath with the loud sounds of traffic booming in my head. I fought my exhaustion and kept running across the concrete and over the narrow bridge that spanned the highway below.

I stopped halfway, gripping the side rail, fighting for breath. As I leaned over I glanced out of the corner of my eye. She was there, standing at the start of the bridge, flanked by three Hunters, the rest of them emerging from the trees to take up positions behind her.

She could cross the distance between us in a flash, but she could tell I was exhausted. So she just stood there with her arms folded, regarding me, _waiting_…

"Well?" I demanded between breaths.

"Are you quite finished with this meaningless game?" she enquired, "You cannot escape, and you cannot win. The only reason you remain in one piece right now is because I demand answers to my questions."

I teasingly allowed that one image of Midas holding the blue crystal in his hand pass in front of my eyes. "And what questions might those be?" I enquired lightly. I saw the answer to my prayers out of the corner of my eye.

_There. Just a few more seconds__…_

"How do you know about the shade?" she enquired in a calm and dangerous voice that was both quiet and yet somehow audible over the roar of engines.

"Sorry Artemis…not that easy," and with that I grabbed hold of the railing and leapt off the overpass. The last thing I heard was the shocked gasps of the entire group and I briefly caught sight of Artemis' widened eyes…

A second later my body slammed into the roof of the flatbed truck that was passing underneath, knocking the wind out of me in an oddly satisfying manner (satisfying in that my timing was right and I wasn't laying broken on the road below…that sort of satisfying.)

I rolled onto my back to catch my breath and saw the Hunters retreating swiftly into the forest. For a second I'd hoped they had given up, until I caught the silver glint of Thalia's circlet out of the corner of my eye and saw numerous shadowy figures dashing through the forest parallel to the road.

It was only then did it occur to me that a Hunter of Artemis in the forest could effortlessly surpass a truck going at sixty miles per hour.

I was more shocked that they would retreat to the woods so swiftly, to be honest. But thankfully they were still slightly behind and I didn't need to remain on my hitched ride for long. I just prayed I hadn't been taken too far from the coast; I would need a slight lead to get back into the forest, then to dash the distance from the forest to the condo door. From there on I would have a few moments while Artemis figured out how to circumvent the rule of no entry into one of Apollo's 'temples' (not _actually_ a temple, I know, but the rule still stands). I'm sure she'd figure out a way around it if she really thought about it.

I pulled myself up, the chilly wind buffeting my inadequately protected form. I noticed again a small wisp of gold trailing off me. I gritted my teeth angrily. Obviously even a dash through the forest was enough to shorten the time I had left.

It was as I patted myself down and looked out behind that I realized_ why_ the Hunters had returned to the forest so quickly, and chosen merely to follow parallel as they did…

One of their group had chosen to take an _alternate_ method of pursuit.

Guess which one...

"Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me!" I shouted.

Artemis (being Artemis) had, instead of joining her Hunters, leapt straight off the overpass right behind me and was now proceeding to leap from car to car with insanely scary grace. Wisps of Mist surrounded her as she leapt from vehicle to vehicle. Judging by the way the drivers barely swerved at all I must assume that, whatever they were seeing, it _wasn't _an oddly dressed twelve-year-old girl jumping about the freeway.

I spun around, glancing back as she closed within three cars distance. I saw the flashing of the truck's indicator and sent a prayer of thanks to Hermes for guiding him away from the rapidly closing goddess.

I prepared to jump as the vehicle closed. I could leap straight into the forest and land without too much pain as long as it slowed down a bit more.

That was when I saw how close she had come. She was now standing on the hood of a red sports car _directly_ behind me and burrowing into me with those piercing eyes of hers. Her manipulation of Mist must be particularly good because the man driving didn't even bat an eyelash.

As the truck turned off and our paths parted, she never took those eyes from mine-as if daring me to look away. The instant moving up the exit ramp caused me to lose sight of her I turned to jump. In that same instant, however, I heard the sound of groaning suspension followed by the crash of shattering metal and screeching tires.

_Oh she didn't-_

_She did__…_

I had about half a second to act as I saw her springboard herself up and over the concrete divide and into view in the air above me. She spun several times through the air, her eyes meeting mine mid-flight. She righted herself, raised a leg up and prepared to give me the drop… literally.

And so I jumped.

An instant later her drop kick slammed into the spot where I had been standing, embedding itself in the steel like it was a tin can. I grabbed hold of a high tree branch and slid down from limb to limb with practiced grace that would make a monkey blush. The instant I hit the floor I followed my usual first instinct.

_Time to keep running__…_

I could hear the rustling of branches not a hundred yards behind me. I had lost most of my lead but I knew where I was now, the scent of nature around me surged new strength into me, and I knew using that strength would cost me more of what little life I had left, but I was doing this on principal. Unfortunately this principal was based entirely on hatred and I would have shunned my way of thinking earlier in life. But now the pain was gone, as was my time, and all I had _left_ was my hatred.

An object crashed into the woods in front of me and I didn't stop to see what (or who) it was. I simply leapt over it and a second later I was dashing down the small grassy incline towards Apollo's condo.

Something sharp shot past my calf and I felt it slice right through the skin, down to the muscle. I immediately lost my footing with a cry of agony and fell head over heels, unceremoniously skidding across the asphalt and onto the driveway of the condo. A silver arrow was embedded in the earth nearby.

_Artemis._

I ignored the gravel digging into my flesh, dragged myself the last foot onto the doorstep and forced it open with my shoulder. Using my (mostly) uninjured hands I literally flipped myself backwards into the hallway and angrily slammed the door shut with my uninjured left foot as hard as I could. I was dimly aware of the sound of it hitting something before clicking shut, followed by a cry of protest and the sound of a body falling to the earth outside.

_Safe__…_

There was one last thing to do. "I forbid entry to all not within the favor of his lordship Apollo!" It was technically a protective charm; it says 'not within Apollo's favor' but it was, strictly speaking, a defensive charm that allowed only those inside to grant entry to those outside-and of course, Apollo himself could come and go as he pleased, as could anyone he gave permission to enter. If it were _literal_ it wouldn't really stop Artemis…or most of the female population of the planet, for that matter.

A shimmering gold film spread out over the walls as the charm took effect, and I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Limping over to the fridge, I retrieved a piece of ambrosia cake and took a bite. Leaning against the wall for support, I allowed its healing properties to take effect. As soon as I felt the muscle and skin in my ankle knit back together and the pain of the bruises fade to nothing, I immediately ran to my room.

I rolled over my four poster bed and grabbed my sword, tossing it onto the mattress. Afterwards I changed into a black hunters garb, not unlike Artemis' Hunters' own except not so…well..._girly_. I tossed some extra ambrosia into my knapsack and grabbed the golden whistle from my nightstand; I had a feeling I was going to need it. I belted my sword across my lower back.

From there I moved to Apollo's own room, which was locked, of course. Saying a silent prayer of apology I kicked the door right off its hinges and spied my target; a golden rectangular box laying on the sun god's lavish nightstand.

I grabbed the box and tossed it onto the bed. Drawing my sword, I slashed the lock off the catch and immediately reached in to rummage through the contents: Apollo's arrow collection, numerous different kinds for all different occasions. I could even spy a few of Eros' own mixed in there.(How Apollo came to acquire them I don't want to know.) But there were only four arrows that I was interested in: their crystalline heads glistened in the sunlight and green light swirled inside each one. Apollo was going to be seriously ticked at my taking them and I was sure that, should I ever see him again, I would apologize heartily.

Then there was his bow; gold and glinting in the sunlight. I couldn't remove it from the condo-only he could do that-but I only needed it as far as the threshold…

-3-

"Spread out, cover all the exit routes, and stay on guard!" Artemis shouted. Her huntresses immediately took up position.

Thalia however, must have taken the phrase 'spread out' to include the front door, as she was now striding right up to it with an annoyed scowl on her face…

-A-

I hooked the golden bow over my shoulder, stopping only to fix my bangs in the mirror on the way to the door. (It was, after all, about _appearances_ when facing down your opponent, and it doesn't do to square up to the enemy with messy hair.)

I saw flashes of gold through the window; they were testing the defenses. I had to hand it to Artemis: when she wanted something she really went for it.

I placed the arrows I had retrieved from Apollo's room in the umbrella holder by the front door. I was idly wondering what her first cunning break-in attempt would be…when the doorbell rang.

_She's joking, right?_

I breathed a sigh. There was only one response to an anticlimax like that. "Who is it?"

There was disbelieving silence for a moment when an annoyed voice spoke up. "Are you going to open the damn door, or am I gonna have to shout at you through a bit of wood?" It was Thalia, and I could hear her drumming her fingers impatiently on one of the doorposts outside.

I shook my head wearily and yanked the door open. The lieutenant of Artemis was standing there, her arms now folded. Behind her I could see the Hunters forming a circle around the condo. I couldn't help but notice a petit blonde who appeared to be in the process of nursing a broken nose. (Oh my heart bled, but nowhere _near_ as much as her face…and if looks could kill… _Wow_)

I turned back to Thalia, who was glistening with sweat, had a few brambles stuck in her wild black hair and was looking decidedly fed up.

I reached into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of chilled nectar off the counter. "Thirsty?" I offered with a smile.

She snatched it out of my hand grudgingly and took a few swigs before tossing it back. "Thanks."

I inclined my head. "Something I can do for you?" I asked in a convincingly curious voice.

She mopped her brow with her tunic sleeve, "Look, Ah-"

"-_Armani,_" I finished for her.

"Yeah, look Armani; I'm gonna level with you here."

I raised my eyebrows at her candidness, "_Oh_? Is that so? Very well, I'm listening."

"I've got nothing against you-"

"Except me being a boy and all."

She rolled her eyes, "_Yeah_ there is that but-"

"Let me guess; this is where you ask me _nicely_ to do everything your mistress says and be thankful if I manage to get out of it with my sensitive areas intact."

She rubbed her brow in exasperation, "She just wants you to answer a few questions, damn it! Why can't you just humor her?" she snapped.

Despite how unbecoming her behavior was for the lieutenant of Artemis I felt my mood darken at how simple she thought everything was. "You _stupid _girl…" I muttered angrily, and her jaw dropped. "You have no idea what's going on here, you have no _clue_ what your precious mistress has done to me, _do you?_"

I watched as she gritted her teeth in frustration, "So_ what_? She outfought you; bruised your ego a bit? How typical of a-"

"I was right: _no idea_…" I butted in before she could get into a feminist rant and turned to slam the door in her face, but sighed. I felt her attempt at diplomacy was worth something. "I will, however, say this much; if you capture me, then you have my word that Lady Artemis will get the answers she seeks." However, I paused and muttered a dark warning before slamming the door in her face.

Whatever levity I had built up had evaporated. But I chilled my heart and dampened my emotions: the lone wolf had to keep moving…

Thalia turned and walked away from the door, feeling slightly bad inside for some reason. "It was worth a try…" she said, shrugging.

"Indeed, but it's pointless to negotiate with him, Thalia; his heart is drowned in rage and sorrow, words will not reach him."

Thalia's voice was quiet. "…Is this really all that important? I mean, with all possible respect Lady Artemis, this seems a little excessive…"

Artemis was staring dead ahead, seeming deep in thought as she spoke "It's important, Thalia. As far as this boy is concerned, these secrets are the most important thing in the world to him and he believes them to be of the utmost importance to me also. I intend to find out why."

"Well it's not like he's _going_ anywhere…"

Artemis didn't take her eyes off the front door as she spoke, "Don't make predictions about someone under the protection of the lord of prophecy, Thalia. Jinxing oneself in such a situation can be very foolhardy."

Thalia blushed, "I'm sorry, Lady Artemis"

"Well, let us just hope my brother is being as inattentive as usual."

"He did say one thing, my lady…" Thalia said uncertainly.

"And what was that?"

"He said that if we capture him he'll tell you what you want to know…but…"

"But?"

Thalia paused as if dwelling on it, "He _also_ said…that by the time he's done, you'll be praying you'd never asked."

That was when the sound of an explosion rocked the ground from behind the condo.

"It would seem Apollo is _indeed_ on his side…"

-A-

"Time to go…" I sighed, I hadn't moved from my position leaning against the door since I had closed it in the Huntress' face. I pushed off and strode off towards the back door, grabbing a single arrow from the umbrella holder as I went.

I opened the French doors. There were four Hunters back here. Two on each side, bows drawn and aimed directly at me. I paid them no heed, just glad they had left a decent gap between each other. I strode back a few steps, nocked the arrow in Apollo's bow and loosed it at the ground a safe distance from the huntresses.

Greek fire concentrate; a Hephaestus special, _extremely _expensive too: five drachma per custom arrow.

Its head cracked open on impact with all the grace of a rocket propelled grenade.

Back I strode, grasping another arrow in the process, and walked to the side window to fire another. The Hunters who had been dashing round to assist their comrades hit the dirt to avoid the shockwave.

Two shots left. But I didn't need them. I had broken their formation and hopefully I could get away without injuring anyone. I had no gripe with the Hunters-shame the feeling wasn't quite mutual-but regardless…

_Time to leave._

I couldn't help one last passing glance at the place that had been my home for most of my life, before lifting the hatch that lead to the garage below.

If Apollo was mad at me now…well…let's just say there are bonuses to considering it to be the last day of your life.

-A-

Apollo's little toy box; that's what I called this place. Motorcycles designed for flash and speed; no muscle bikes here. No, all sleek and curvy and lined neatly up in a row.

I'm not _entirely_ sure why I picked his Hephaestus modified Yamaha R7 (Or as Apollo called it: his _Sun Steed_). It wasn't particularly the newest or the fastest and having Apollo's little nickname for it emblazoned on the side always made me cringe, but it was the one he had been teaching me to ride since I was twelve (gods don't let little things like traffic laws get in the way) so I suppose it was more out of a sense of nostalgia than anything else.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a speed freak by any means, but even _I_ could tell it was a thing of beauty: its silver and golden highlights glistened in the dim light of the garage. Apollo had bragged about its 15,000 drachma price tag while teaching me. However, I guessed by the time I was through with this one of his many prides in joy today, its resale value would have plummeted somewhat. Shame really…

I had seconds before Artemis realized what I was up to and reasserted her cordon, so, grasping the correct key from the hook on the wall and ignoring the helmets (I figured if I crashed at the speeds this thing reached then it wouldn't make much of a difference), I braced myself and kick-started the ignition.

That was when another problem occurred to me: only Apollo could open the garage door. He had no remote or such, he just waved his hand and the mechanism would trigger-no doubt one of his many ways of stopping me from running away.

I wheeled back the bike as far as I could and said another prayer of apology to my uncle. There was only one way out now.

I nocked one of the remaining arrows…

I _w_as really taking a page-the loud and overly flashy page-out of Apollo's book today…

-3-

"Thalia?" Artemis demanded as her lieutenant ran around from the other side of the condo.

"Everyone's all right, my lady! It looks like he was missing intentionally. What in Hades _were _those?"

Artemis glanced at the crater, "Greek fire arrows… It would appear our quarry is better provisioned than we first assumed." Suddenly her silver eyes widened. "Who's guarding the front?"

Thalia glanced around; eight around the back ensuring no injuries, some at the sides, but that would mean… "Oh _no_," she groaned and, without another word, sprinted back to the front of the house.

The sound of a high-pitched engine roared to life from within the closed garage.

"Positions!" Artemis shouted, and her followers immediately appeared from both sides of the condo, taking up a semi-circular position formation around the driveway. This would've worked perfectly had the garage door not suddenly exploded outwards in a blaze of green fire and sent most of them flying back through the air.

Thalia had braced herself and therefore hadn't been given impromptu flying lessons. She was not, however, prepared as a gold and silver blur shot out from the green fire with a scream from its engine. The rider weaved past the lieutenant, who remained rigid and daring at the end of the driveway. His hand shot out as he passed, slapping the silver circlet from the top of her head. It clanked to the ground several feet away. The sound of taunting laughter was audible over the roar of the engine and crackle of the green flame as he sped off.

Artemis would've growled in rage had there not been more pressing issues. She turned back to her Hunters who, thankfully, were all in the process of getting up again, "Is everybody uninjured?" she enquired, looking around at Thalia.

"I'm fine…" Thalia said, bending down to retrieve her head accessory. This was followed by several more affirmatives from the other Hunters. Thalia then glanced between the gaping hole in the condo wall and the direction in which their prey had escaped. "Is he _insane?_!"

"No, Thalia, he was cornered, and acted accordingly," she said, giving a sigh and focusing on deciding the best method of pursuit whilst doing her best to ignore the searing heat of the green flames that burned all around the building.

"Mistress…" Steff suddenly spoke up.

Artemis turned to the huntress, who was standing in the remains of the garage door, "Problem?"

"No, it's just; with him gone it looks like the field keeping us out of the building has gone too."

"That's normally how it works," she commented, walking up to the redhead.

"Yes. But it's just, well, _look._" And look she did and, more importantly, the Goddess of the Hunt _saw_…

-A-

The escape through the forest after that little stunt on the freeway had cost me even more of my time but that worry was quelled; I was moving, and this time I mean _really_ moving.

The bike screamed down the freeway at over a hundred and eighty miles per hour. The Mist field it generated from the exhaust disguised me from mortal eyes. I had to hand it to Hephaestus, what he could do with a normal mortal machine was amazing. If I weren't a half-blood there's no way my reactions would be enough to ride this monster accurately, and considering the speedometer could measure up to seven hundred and fifty, I guessed I wasn't even pulling a fraction of its power out.

It was, for lack of a better phrase, _seriously freaking awesome. _(like I said: 'lack of a better phrase', I was concentrating on not crashing at the time, after all).

As I streaked by the woods and the open sea was exposed I finally spared a glance in my mirror for the first time since my escape. (I know I know; mirror, signal, maneuver, but like I said, I was _busy._)

Now you may see many strange things on a freeway: mammoth trucks so large they could crush a normal car like tin foil; drunken drivers being chased by the police; tanks and military vehicles. But what you _really_ don't expect to see is eight young girls dressed in Greek hunting gear screaming up the road at over two hundred miles per hour on the backs of four pilfered Olympian-modified superbikes.

_Yeah_…that's kinda weird.

The lead bike pulled up alongside; Artemis was seated on the back. Unlike the rider, Artemis wasn't wearing a helmet either. I suppose falling off a motorcycle at any speed wouldn't really kill her anyway.

I spared another glance in my mirror; I spied Thalia gripping onto the shoulders of her driver. Judging by how hard she was holding on and the whiteness of her knuckles, this obviously wasn't her preferred method of transport.

It didn't shock me that out of all the Hunters, four were capable of driving motorcycles. After all, more than a few had ages that could be measured in centuries; you pick up quite a few skills in that length of time.

However, the sight was _so_ strange I found I really could come up with just one thing to say. "Hey!" I shouted and Artemis narrowed her eyes at me. "That's _stealing_!" And with that I opened up the throttle, pulling the bike back into a wheelie as the engine roared triumphantly and shot forwards. It was time to see what this thing could really do…

I prayed the traffic was with me today; any congestion and she would have me. I weaved in and out of the traffic; the cars and trucks, probably going at sixty or seventy, appeared to stand still.

At over three hundred miles per hour I knew only a few things were keeping me alive. One was my reflexes and the second was the modifications: the auto-corrections would alter my course subtly if there was anything up ahead and the magical stabilizers would stop me from toppling over. The enchanted wind and g-force dampers were a bonus too, as they were among the only things stopping any bugs hitting me in the eye with all the gentleness of a thrown shard of glass.

I dared to reach a hand down to the whistle around my neck and bring it to my lips. Inhaling a breath I blew for all I was worth and it let out a long harmonious note that resonated even above the engine. I knew this chase couldn't go on long, so I had to be ready. I just hoped my contingency plan got here in time…

I cursed as I glanced at my mirror: one of the bikes was moving in directly behind, while two were moving to the left and right. I knew a boxing-in maneuver when I saw one, and, being on a motorcycle at this speed, it was not something I would like to get caught in.

I spied possible salvation in the far distance in the form of an off-ramp and my hand brushed the brake. I was aware of the redhead's bike (Apollo's new Suzuki Intruder, jeez was _he_ gonna be mad when he got back) pulling up for a second, but I really couldn't pay attention; this would require immensely precise timing to pull off.

I saw out of my peripheral vision her pull closer and then, strangely, suddenly pull away and back. I felt a minor jolt in the bike's suspension but I held on.

_Get ready__…_

My hand gripped the brake; at this speed I had no room for error. That was when I felt someone tapping me on the shoulder, "Not now!" I snapped angrily at the small person sitting behind me.

_Wait__…__What?_

I felt the color drain from my face, and my head turned involuntarily round to discover a pair of silver eyes staring back from about two inches away.

I blinked in disbelief and could feel my mouth hanging open. Artemis smiled calmly. "I believe the colloquialism is… _Pull over._"

There's tenacious, but this wasn't tenacity. Neither was this recklessness; _I_ was reckless, _this_ chick was grade one_ daffy_.

I spied a golden blur streaking through the skies in the distance and felt a smirk tug on my lips, "As you wish." I squeezed the brake and the discs screamed their objection as I violently leaned left, cutting square across three lanes and shot up off the exit ramp. I hoped silently the sudden braking or the sharp movement would dislodge the bike-jacking deity. Sadly, I wasn't sure if it was the modifications or her Olympian grip, but when I glanced back she hadn't even flinched.

Thankfully, I'd shaken all the other Hunters who had since well overshot the exit. Unfortunately, however, I still had _her._ It was all or nothing…

"Stop! Now! There's nowhere for you to go!" I heard her shout, and I could feel her leaning over to grab the handles. I knew that with Hephaestus' changes, even if we fought violently for control we wouldn't topple over. I also knew, however, that she needed me alive and in my current form to give her the answers she needed.

"I'm not yielding to _you_! Not after what you've done to me!"

She probably enquired what I meant, but the bike had reached the top of the incline and flew straight over the crossing and landed oddly well on the sandy earth on the opposite side.

The bike tore across the dry off-road terrain and I could see the drop into the ocean in the distance. I had one chance and one chance only. If I didn't act, I knew Artemis would stop me.

I bent the brake handle forwards until it snapped off and once the throttle was opened I twisted it back until it locked into place with a crack. The engine roared back to life. Nothing could stop us now.

"What have you _done_?" Artemis demanded, grabbing me roughly by the shoulders.

"How about that, Artemis? _I win,_" I said and smiled darkly, locking my feet under the pedals as the edge drew closer, my peripheral vision focusing on a gold dot closing in fast.

Her small hands grabbed me to jump but then I felt her hesitate. She knew the fall alone from these speeds would be enough to liquefy my organs. She released my shoulders with a shove. "TO TARTARUS WITH YOU THEN!" she bellowed into my ear. She climbed up onto the seat until she was crouching and launched herself off with a back flip. I watched in my mirror as she twirled once in the air and landed in a crouch, skidding for at least a hundred yards and to a halt; her feet had to burn after that.

Then the ground disappeared from under me…

-3-

Artemis pushed herself to her feet angrily and began striding towards the cliff edge. She heard the sound of the bike exploding off the rocks below a second later. "The _fool,_" she muttered and, an instant later, a golden blur shot down out of the sky, curved down, and soared back up into the air again.

It coiled round and slowed until it was hovering in the air, its wide golden wings beating rhythmically up and down and glinting in the sunlight, Armani Dove's dark-clad form just now adjusting itself onto its back.

"The Guardian of the Divine…a Griffin?" Artemis breathed, watching as its eagle head regarded its passenger, who ruffled its mane affectionately. Artemis could feel another emotion surface in herself somewhere, something that oddly resembled relief.

She narrowed her eyes curiously as the boy now seemed to be trailing a strange golden aura, which disappeared after a moment. A wave of weakness appeared to overcome him for a second and he almost fell straight off before shaking off whatever it was and righting himself.

Armani turned his head around to the goddess, "Close call…beautiful, isn't she? Got her when I was just six, she was only a chick at the time. Her name's Tim…don't ask."

"Tim the Griffin?" Artemis echoed dryly.

"Yup! To be honest I always wondered why she would seem so disgruntled when I would call her by it. But then, I wasn't really adept at sensing what things in nature were feeling until I was like _ten_, and by then it had grown on her. Hadn't it, Tim?" She cawed affectionately in response as he scratched her neck again.

"An unnaturally infuriating half-blood and a gender-confused Griffin, you make a fitting pair," said Artemis as her bow materialized in her hand.

"Things haven't changed, Artemis! Shoot Tim and I plunge to my death and you _still_ don't find out what happened all those years ago."

"You have not escaped me yet, Armani Dove."

"Oh, yeah? Well I'll tell you what; why don't you try flying after me!" Tim turned and flew leisurely off, following the coast north, the half-blood laughing to himself all the while.

Artemis stared after him for a moment, the sound of motorcycles approaching in the background. She would have to issue orders to her Hunters first, but, "If that is what is necessary, Armani…"

-A-

I all but collapsed forwards into Tim's mane. _Don't exert yourself_ is what Apollo said. Time was running short.

I felt Tim's concern for me, "Don't worry girl, I'll be fine" I said as lightly as I could, but she was difficult to fool and she cawed sadly.

I smelled the distasteful stench of smog beginning to saturate the air and I glanced up ahead. A city was coming into view.

I knew my geography well enough to know where I was, "Well I'll be the son of a virgin; the city so nice they named it twice…" I winced as an angry crackle of thunder echoed through the skies around us.

Tim tensed under me and picked up speed. Like some birds she could sense changes in the weather and whatever was coming must've really been scaring her. Storm clouds were gathering seemingly all around us, and with unnatural speed. I felt the static cause the hairs on the back of my neck to prickle as we began to fly over the outer suburbs of the metropolis. Another crash of thunder, ten times louder than the last, echoed over the landscape. _That_ made me flinch.

I didn't need to guess what was happening; we were cruising above New York City, in the _air_. And the air was the domain of only one certain someone, especially here, right next to the seats of power, and that someone didn't like people treading (so to speak) on his turf, particularly half-bloods not of his own loins.

"Zeus…" I breathed, and no sooner was the syllable out than a streak of lightning crashed through the air nearby. Tim reared to the right with a cry of panic and curved down lower as several more bolts erupted from the clouds. These were still warnings. Zeus could sense something of the gods in his domain and this was his way of telling it that it wasn't welcome.

"Oh well. In for a penny, in for a pound!" I reared Tim around and set a descent course straight for the Empire State Building. The weather seemed to calm as we went lower. Tim spread her wings and began circling the building gently, going no lower.

She was obviously enjoying herself. She never went near cities normally. I didn't think the air was good for her, plus her ability to control the mist was about as adept as mine. A mild rumble of thunder signified we _really_ should be out of the air by now. But then I never really was one for pandering to the whims of the gods.

That brief second of peace was shattered as a silver arrow streaked past my face, missing me by less than an inch and cracking the building's glass.

I had two choices, and so I picked one. "CLIMB!" Tim cried out, arched a wing and spiraled up around the structure, higher and higher. Once every couple of seconds I would spy a silver arrow streak by just below, intermittently striking the spot we had just passed.

_What?_

With blinding speed Tim beat her wings faster and our upward spiral became a blur until the building itself became narrower and then we broke free above the spire.

But she was already waiting for us and I suddenly felt immensely stupid.

Artemis stood poised, bow drawn with two arrows nocked, in her glowing silver chariot. I breathed an apologetic sigh, "Sorry girl…forgot she had that."

Tim cried out angrily, and I didn't blame her. I had just made the worst tactical error in my short existence.

Tim beat her wings to move backwards but the Griffin hadn't even flown a foot when a spear of blue lightning missed us by feet with a deafening crash and struck the spire. She shook it off and instead tried moving slowly in a circle around Artemis, who hadn't budged from her position, and another ribbon of light missed us again, by even less distance this time. Tim was trembling beneath me but managed to move back to where she was before for safety.

It was obvious what had happened. Artemis had pushed us into a corner, with her on one side and Zeus on the other. It seemed daddy was choosing to help out his little princess today…

A wave of rage and resentment surged through me, at both myself and the goddess as the truth dawned.

She had me.

And she knew it.

I couldn't even just _jump_; her chariot was so fast she'd simply stop me before I hit the ground. In fact, I'd hazard that was her intent when she started firing on us; take out my steed and then simply pluck me out of the sky.

The wind buffeted me as I stood up, balancing on Tim's back to face my pursuer.

Lightning continued to crackle over the wailing wind (thankfully at least blowing my bangs back out of my face) and my eyes met Artemis' over the distance between us.

I saw in them this time the triumph of the victor, the scorning of her superiority. And I knew that my eyes in turn held nothing but hate, and rage...and pain.

"Did you _really_ think you could escape me?" she enquired calmly, her voice somehow carrying across to me unhindered by the storm around us.

I sighed, "As a matter of fact, no."

"Then why did you persist?"

I paused, but I chose to answer truthfully. "To be perfectly honest, I intended to die in the attempt."

I saw her eyes widen slightly at my answer. "But surely you knew that as long as you had information I required I would not kill you in the chase."

"It was not _you_ that I thought would end my life."

She hesitated before speaking. "So I was right, you are…" she trailed off.

"-_Dying_? As a matter of fact, yes, you were absolutely correct, congratulations," I interrupted sardonically.

"And how exactly would fleeing have ended your life? Every time you yourself have been in danger you have prevented your own demise. This Griffin is proof of that."

My eyes narrowed at her, "Exerting myself, particularly in relation to a _hunt, _drains my life force. You hunted me all the way up the eastern sea board, Lady Artemis!"

She paused again as if taking it in; she seemed genuinely disturbed for a moment. "Despite what you may have heard of me, I am not totally without sympathy for someone in your position-"

The worst part was she really sounded genuine, and I think that's what made me snap. "DON'T! NOT YOU!" I shouted, stabbing a finger across at her, "I DON'T WANT PITY FROM _YOU_!"

I took twisted amusement in how stunned she looked, "I do not understand…" she breathed after a moment.

I laughed darkly, shaking my head, "You still haven't figured it out, have you? All _this_ and _still_ you haven't put the pieces together!"

Her shock gave way to annoyance. "Figured _what _out?"

"That it's all your fault!" I snapped, shaking my head and flinging my hands up disbelievingly at how dense she was, "This whole situation! You! Me! I'm only _here _because YOU dropped your guard!"

"_What_ is all my fault?" she snapped, her voice was deep and laced with power, but I didn't falter; I was lost in rage.

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you," I said in a venomous tone, and suddenly a small, dangerous smile appeared on my face, "I'll tell you what, why don't you just take a look for yourself?"

"I attempted once before, but your mind was clouded with anger, and is still guarded."

"It still is _my lady_, the anger part at least, but I'm going to congratulate you for being the first person in all of history to succeed in what you are about to do."

"And that is?"

" making a teenager open up to his elders. Well, come on, Artemis!" I shouted, holding my arms out as if to embrace her, "I'm _letting you in_!"

Her eyes locked with mine, I could feel her peering straight into my mind, and so I began. However, I felt her hesitation and I knew why; with direct telepathic links comes a direct empathic link which meant that as well as exposing herself to my memories she'd be exposing herself to the feelings I associated along with them.

Of course I wasn't about to jump to the chase. No, that would defeat the purpose of it, and so I began walking her through my mind; my earliest memories.

_Is this relevant?_

I ignored her mental query. It was laced with discomfort. I ran her quickly through what memories I had at the orphanage, the first time I summoned my bow accidentally.

_There! How did you use that power?_

"Not just yet, Artemis"

Next was the time I was backed into an alley by a larger boy with a knife, not long after I moved in with Apollo. It was dark, and so I screamed, the sound of every enraged and wild animal in creation tearing out of my vocal chords and into the air. Out of the shadows alley cats, stray dogs and rats alike swamped the boy and seconds later he ran off screaming and bloody from lacerations.

I could feel Artemis holding onto the questions she was itching to ask.

Then the memory of the pain came. That first time, later the same night that the boy attacked me, when I had collapsed and Apollo had stopped it.

Suddenly I ran the memories in fast forward; assaulting the goddess' mind with my experiences and pain over the years with such speed she didn't even have time to turn away before I had effectively downloaded my experiences up until recently into her.

It was each time I had used my power, each time the pain had come, and _years_ of unshakable self-loathing seething beneath the surface, all of it compressed down into one neat little package and crammed into her divine cranium.

_What__…__that was__…_

"That was me. That was _all of me_ up until lately." I could sense her absorbing the feelings and trying to shake them off, but it was too late, even a goddess cannot unfeel what has already been felt.

_Wh-what are these feelings? The hatred it__…__ it's aimed__…__ inwards?_

"I guess a god wouldn't know about that, considering how much you just _love_ yourselves." And then we reached recent memories…

She saw my fight with her played out through my eyes, the feelings surging through me as I fought. I even permitted her to know what fear and reverence I felt when I first faced her. I omitted the realization of my lineage that I experienced during the fight with great difficulty. I then played through the conversation with Apollo from the previous night, again omitting the information about her.

_A month? So short a time... As I said, I am-_

"I said I didn't want to hear it." I forced out her sympathy, and indeed tried to ignore it.

_How long now? How long do you have?_ I felt her idly wonder. I didn't especially want to answer, but if I had to guess I'd say I had used up about eighty five percent of my remaining time in my jaunt today. Artemis didn't send a thought at that revelation, just dwelled upon it.

_Why is this happening to you? I have never seen a half-blood with such a disease. And what does this have to do with the Midas shade?_

I didn't need to respond, as then we came to the tale Apollo had showed me. And now slowly, very slowly, I began to play forward events. I could feel Artemis now paying rapt attention, although I could tell she had been shaken greatly by the onslaught of alien emotions and was doing her best to remind herself that they weren't actually hers.

_Kronos__…__ So, it was he who was responsible for Midas' escape._

I suppose she could at least think the titan's name safely. We observed as Midas changed into his Shade form and disappeared.

I also felt her revulsion as Midas brutally murdered the man who was my father, "Sympathy for another male? What's coming of you Artemis?" I jibed teasingly.

_Be silent!_

I then began showing her in real-time (or as best I could remember) the events of the '94 annual eclipse.

It was as Midas cracked that crystal and it erupted into swirling light that I sensed a change in Artemis. Kind of like a horrified dawning realization, so large a realization that I couldn't comprehend it, like a titanic mass of thought and fear on the edge of her mind.

_That energy__…__was the life force of a mortal?_

"Yes, now shall I put it all into context for you?" and with that I ran past Midas' attack and then recalled the images she wouldn't have seen: a ball of light streaking through the night sky; Apollo's crash landing and finally…the discovery of the infant wrapped in the veil bearing her symbol.

She seemed to dwell on the image for a second, then, as if my mind had somehow electrocuted her, she yanked herself away from my consciousness with such force I nearly fell right off Tim's back.

I blinked once to clear my head and found her staring across at me from her chariot, frozen to the spot, wide-eyed and looking decidedly pale (odd for a goddess). She said nothing for a moment; the only sound was the raging weather around about us. Then she spoke, "That light...that energy...that...c_hild-_" she breathed in disbelief.

"Yes, that was me…" And then I said the one word that I hadn't said yet, the word that finally made it real, for her and for me, "…_Mother._"

Abruptly the thunder ceased. The wind disappeared and the clouds suddenly began clearing around us until there was a perfect circular gap in the skies above us, as if nature itself had just done a double take and needed to cut out the racket to make sure they'd heard that right.

I was glad, because if I were forced to raise my own voice now I probably would've choked on my own words, as I suddenly found myself speaking quietly, my voice shaking and thick with emotion, "Do you have _any_ idea what it's like...to be me?"

Artemis was shaking her head in denial, but I knew part of her was paying attention, so I carried on.

"To be the child of Artemis…the _male_ child of Artemis?"

She opened her mouth to try and speak, "I…"

But I wasn't having any of her excuses, "Do you UNDERSTAND what that means?"

I could see fear in her eyes. Fear and sorrow and they were getting worse, but I wasn't nearly finished.

I felt myself choke slightly and fought to get the next words out, "I _hate_ myself_…_I walk through life, day after day, feeling like no matter how hard I try, no matter how good a deed I do, I will NEVER, _EVER_ be good enough! Unable to shake the feeling that there's something _wrong _with me! Like there's some incurable filthy disease at the core of my being that makes me utterly worthless as a life!" I paused, my eyes were stinging for some reason and my vision was blurring. "This is the life you created: a life born to hurt; a life born to _die._"

Artemis' head shook in despair, golden tears starting to form in her own eyes. But still, I wasn't done.

"YOU DID THIS TO ME! YOU… _MADE_ ME!" I found myself roaring this over the maddening quiet and now I could feel my own tears starting to fall freely as I spoke to the goddess who stood there, bow still drawn, like the most pained and fragile thing in all creation. "I _hate _you,_ mother_, but not for the reason you're thinking of, not the self-loathing, not the pain…" I paused as a silver ball formed in my hand.

"Stop!" I vaguely heard her choke out, she knew what I was doing and what it would do to me, but she had to know. She had to know what it was she _did_.

I formed my bow.

Nocking an arrow, I took aim at my mother. Her own bow was still aimed with trembling hands. And then I told her, "The one thing I can never forgive you for, the greatest wrong you ever committed, was this: you allowed me to be _born._" and those words hit the goddess of childbirth with more force than the arrow I had aimed at her ever could. I saw the pain hit somewhere in her so deep that it went beyond despair. And then I realized with horror, and just a sentence too late, _exactly_ what I had just done…

_You just broke your mother's heart._

Before I could say anything else a wave of weakness came over me as my entire body shimmered with gold light and my thumb and forefinger lost their grip.

_No!_

As I swayed, I managed to alter my aim a few degrees to the left, just enough to miss, but not _quite _enough. Fortunately my arrow only skimmed across the top of my mother's right hand, lacerating it slightly. _Unfortunately_, in her unfocused state this caused her hand to twitch for a fraction of a second.

_Oh the irony__…_

An instant later I was vaguely aware of the ground under me start evaporating into dust and I realized with detachment that one arrow had struck Tim's hide.

I would've said a silent prayer to Hades in the hopes he guided her to be reincarnated in a form she would have liked, had not a sudden, deafening _THUD_ echoed in my ears. I felt myself thrown backwards in the air, a dull ache starting to spread across my torso.

Time seemed to slow as I glanced down at the silver arrow now protruding from my chest and, as my consciousness faded to darkness, caught a last fleeting glimpse of my mother's despairing face, her bow discarded and her hand outstretched desperately as if to grasp me out of the air…

_Falling__…_

_To be concluded…_

-XA-

[A/N] Almost done now, I'll see you in the last chapter

See you in Chapter 4: Hunter's Moon


	4. Chapter 4: Hunter's Moon

[A/N] And thus we reach the last chapter of this little yarn, I thank you for sticking with me and again cheers to my beta Shrrgnien for her work.

**Broken Bow**

**Chapter 4: Hunter's Moon**

-A-

I thought I hated her.

_No__…_

That wasn't it…that was never it…

I was just looking for a way to offload the pain in my heart onto another person now that the pain in my body was gone. And so I turned my pain on the one person who probably deserved it the least…

I didn't even have the decency to die with the courtesy of not leaving a hindering mark on the world behind. I left a wound so deep that it would most likely never heal.

Perhaps Mother really was right about men…

No…

She was just right about _me_. Perhaps I was just her expectations of males personified. In that case my self-hatred would be well founded. But I guess now I'll never know…

_Can't breathe__…_

_That would be the blood obstructing your windpipe, fool..._

As I drifted on the edge of consciousness I wondered what would kill me first; the arrow that was embedded quite deeply in the middle of my upper torso, or the impact I was about to make on Fifth Avenue.

In my almost dreamlike state I couldn't help but calculate: nine point eight meters per second per second acceleration, at a height of about four hundred and fifty meters, looks like you've got less than thirty seconds.

_So cold__…_

_That would be the wind and probably your blood losing oxygen__…_

Sad how much I knew my own physiology, but then when you live with Apollo for so long he inevitably crams in his own subjects.

Suddenly I was dimly aware of a warm sensation somewhere around my right arm and the feeling of it being stretched. Then the cold wind stopped and all went silent…

_Is this death?_

_Probably__…_

-3-

Thalia and the Hunters had gathered at the base of The Empire State Building, having followed after their goddess. With the help of a small pair of binoculars, Thalia could make out the shape of her mistress' chariot in the skies, along with a golden shape hovering not far away.

"What's going on Thalia? Does she have him or not?" Steff demanded.

"I think so, but I can't be- _What?_" her eyes widened as she observed the golden shape disintegrate. And as the daughter of the sky god she could feel something else too. "Something's falling…"

"What? _What's _falling?" Thalia took the binoculars away after a second, her eyes following the plummeting black dot coming from above.

"It's him!"

"So Lady Artemis got him in the end, huh?" Aren spoke in an unsympathetic tone.

Thalia's eyes widened again. "No, I don't think that's it at all…" she said as she spied a brilliant silver streak spiraling down the building after the falling form like a shooting star.

They were getting closer, barely a hundred feet above the ground now. The blur intersected the nearly visible shape and both began slowing considerably. About twenty feet above the pavement both streaked to a halt and materialized into the form of Artemis' chariot. The goddess of the hunt herself was leaning over the edge, with both her arms grabbing hold of the dangling Armani Dove's right hand.

Thalia gasped as she saw the arrow protruding from the limp half-blood's chest.

She ran to the chariot as it descended to the ground, the people and cars continuing on around it as if it weren't there. Artemis had already pulled the boy in and was currently sitting over him, his head resting in her lap.

"Lady Artemis! What happened?" Thalia shouted as she reached her mistress. She paused in shock as she regarded the goddess in front of her. She appeared to be…_trembling_. "Lady Artemis, what's wrong?"

"I didn't-" she paused, as if not knowing what to say. "I swear it wasn't my intention…" she choked off again and only then did Thalia notice the occasional golden drop fall from the lady's face as she shook her head. Thalia crawled in next to her mistress.

"Lady Artemis, what do you want us to do?"

She shook her head as if trying to clear it and suddenly focused on the arrow in front of her. It shimmered and disintegrated into nothing. The goddess immediately pressed her hands down onto the wound. "Ambrosia…" she muttered after a second.

"My lady?"

"Ambrosia, _now_!" she snapped angrily, rearing her tear stained face around to her gathered Hunters, who recoiled back in shock. None could remember the last time she had even come close to scolding one of them.

Thalia shook her head mutely, "We didn't bring any, we were in such a hurry when-" Artemis gave a cross between a gasp and a sob. "Wait!", said Thalia abruptly, spying the bag slung loosely over Armani's shoulder. She immediately began rummaging around in it. "Thank Zeus for well provisioned half-bloods," she said with relief as she withdrew a slice of ambrosia cake wrapped in cling film. She unwrapped it and handed it to Artemis, who immediately broke off a chunk.

The goddess placed some in his mouth and held it closed until he reflexively swallowed. She removed her hand from his chest as the wound began to heal under it. The goddess gasped as the boy coughed up a large amount of blood over her and immediately began gasping for air.

As the half-blood stabilized, Thalia observed her mistress' face change from fear to an unreadable blank expression, just staring between the child's face and the blood that stained her hands. The lieutenant decided it was time to speak. "Lady Artemis, what happened?"

She didn't take her eyes away from Armani, "He told me what I wanted to know…he told me everything."

Thalia gave pause at the way the boy was resting in her mistress' lap. That alone was a surreal sight, but if she didn't know any better she would've sworn it almost looked like Artemis was _holding _him.

"I need to…" Artemis began, pausing as if confused, still appearing totally shell-shocked, "I need to…go." she began to get up, lifting the half-blood into her arms as she did so, and turned to Thalia, "Here…"

Without a word of question the daughter of Zeus took the unconscious form from her mistress' arms. "What are your orders, my lady?"

She didn't answer for a moment, as if the words were having trouble reaching her. "Just...just look after him. Make sure no harm comes to him until I return," she said in a dull voice, her mind a mile away.

"But what about you?" Steff spoke up, fear in her voice. She had served with Artemis for nearly two centuries and never before had the goddess seemed so fragile and disturbed.

The look on the goddess' face turned dark for a moment as she finally focused, "There's someone I have to see." And with that she shook the reigns of her chariot and it disappeared in a flash of silver moonlight.

Without another word Thalia carried the boy into the lobby of the building, the other six Hunters following in silence.

-A-

_I'm still alive_?

_Apparently__…_

I stirred and could feel uncomfortable leather creaking under my back. The hum of an air conditioner and the muffled sounds of traffic were the only things I could hear. I was clearly indoors somewhere, and judging by the light coming in through the windows it must have been evening already.

I risked opening my eyes. Straight above were florescent lights. I arched my head around. My view was obscured by a pair of denim clad legs. I glanced upwards to see a pair of stormy blue eyes staring down at me, "Thalia..." I mumbled. I immediately began attempting to pull myself up, and immediately regretted it. "Jeez!" I snapped, a sharp pain shooting through my abdomen. I suddenly remembered what had happened and a different sort of pain emerged.

_Oh gods__…__what have I done?_

She sighed then reached down to assist me into a sitting position. "You really shouldn't be trying to move yet, Lady Artemis only gave you enough ambrosia to pull you back from the edge. You're still injured."

"Please, when has anyone in history ever heeded the words 'you shouldn't try and move yet'?" I grunted as I glanced around. I spied a plaque by the doorway and knew then where I was; the lobby of the Empire State Building. Dotted around were the remaining six Hunters of Artemis.

"Here, you should eat the rest of this," she said and I found the chunk of ambrosia from Apollo's condo thrust into my hands. I wordlessly accepted it and began munching, my pain easing with each bite. I did my best to ignore the half-dozen pairs of eyes now burning into me. If there was dislike before, it now radiated sheer murder, and I didn't really blame them.

I leaned back and breathed a sigh, and just stared listlessly at the ceiling, not saying a word.

To be honest I was quite happy to just sit there and let death claim me, but then a voice spoke up I couldn't ignore. It was the annoying blonde one whose nose I had broken earlier with Apollo's front door. "What did you _do_… to Lady Artemis?" she had to pause in the middle to hold in her temper.

I lowered my head down to regard her, and instantly recognized the emotions in her eyes: rage and fear. They were the eyes of someone who just witnessed the centre of her universe begin to crack apart. She also looked like she wanted nothing more than to wrap her fingers around my throat and squeeze the life out of me. She deserved an answer, however. "I did something terrible"

I watched as she inhaled a shuddering breath and only then noticed the other hunters were in a similar way. Most looked terrified, one even appeared to have been crying. The only one who appeared to be in a slightly better way was Thalia. I only now realized just how important my mother was to these girls.

She obviously didn't like the silence I had fallen into. Apparently the pain of not knowing what had happened was the worst part. "Well?"

I inhaled a deep breath and spoke again, "I felt she had hurt me, and so I hurt her back. I have hurt her so badly that she may never recover."

"Don't be ridiculous, boy! There's no way scum like you could hurt Lady Artemis!" The redhead interrupted.

I didn't have the heart to meet her eyes, "I could, and I did. I used the only weapon I had available."

"And that was?" Thalia spoke up.

"My identity. I revealed to her who I was, and then used my pain to try and destroy her with that knowledge. I don't know why she didn't just let me die."

"Who are you then? How could something like that hurt Lady Artemis?" Thalia demanded. She appeared to be the only level-headed one left; the others had fallen silent lest their emotions take them over.

"It's best that you don't know. Trust me, you wouldn't like the answer. Should your lady ever deem you fit to know, then it will be her secret to tell, but I will take the pain that knowledge will bring you to my death which, incidentally_,_ shouldn't be too far off now."

"You're right. It's not." Aren said in an emotionless voice. Then, with a cry of rage, she lunged at me with her dagger drawn. I didn't move; it was her right should she choose to exercise it.

A flash of blue light shot from Thalia's hand and sent the Hunter flying backwards through the air and crashing into the seats opposite.

The black haired girl strode pointedly across, grabbed the spasming blonde, and yanked her up until her face was inches from her own, "_Listen_, I know you're upset and frightened, but that is not the way to solve this! And more importantly, if you _ever_ disobey Lady Artemis' orders again, Aren, I will put you down _permanently_, got it?" The blonde merely averted her now teary green eyes in shame. Thalia sighed and strode back toward me.

_This is all your fault, too_.

"You shouldn't have stopped her" I mumbled.

Thalia reared around to face me, "Listen! I didn't save you because I wanted to, only because Lady Artemis ordered me to stop anything from happening to you! Care to explain to me why that is? And why did she save you right after shooting you?"

I breathed a weary sigh, "Firstly the arrow was my fault; my own arrow caused her to accidentally loose her own. And as for saving me, well, I guess she just isn't that bright."

Thalia raised her hand to strike me. I didn't move, but she paused as her eyes met mine. She shook her head in disgusted confusion, "Just what is _wrong_ with you? The way you act, you're practically begging us to kill you! Does your life mean so little to you?"

So many demands for answers, where to begin? "After what I've done, Thalia, my life is even more worthless than it was before, and as for wanting to die…well, it doesn't matter one way or the other. The logic of your lady saving me escapes me. After reading my mind she must know the truth of what's going to happen well enough, especially after summoning my bow. Her saving me was an exercise in futility."

"_Why?_" Thalia breathed desperately.

I answered in a plain and level tone, "Because, daughter of Zeus, I've used up so much of my time, it's more than likely that I'll be dead by dawn. My life is now dangling by a single thread."

Thalia's blue eyes widened. "What?"

"Weren't you listening when Artemis told you I was dying?"

"Yeah, but I thought that meant…you know…"

"That I had some kind of illness that would take years to kill me?" I offered.

Thalia just nodded slightly.

"Unfortunately, I had less than a month left in me when you caught me that time; my time is used up more every time I use my power as a half-blood, especially when going on a hunt. Can you see where this is going?"

"We hunted you…"

"And in doing so drew all but the last few grains of sand from my hourglass. True, I forced a large portion of them out myself, but…" I simply trailed off at that.

"But why? Why the hunt, what's so special about it to you?"

I laughed weakly, "Because, Thalia, I've become far too much like my mother and I'm just too different from my uncle."

"I don't understand. Does this have to do with your Olympian parent or something?"

I inclined my head, "Something like that. Like I said, I won't tell you…but neither will I stop you from working it out yourself. All the pieces are there. Your mistress' reaction to that truth is just the last piece you needed to figure it out."

I could see the cogs turning in her head as she just stared into my eyes. I sat still, hoping she wasn't as stubborn as she appeared and would give up after a moment. I hoped this was the case as her face froze mid frown and all emotion drained from it. She simply stood there, staring at me.

_Oh no__…_

"_How_? It's _impossible_…" she breathed, clearly afraid to ask.

"Worked it out did you?" I asked, averting my eyes.

Suddenly I was yanked to my feet by the front of my top, but I still didn't meet her eyes, "_How_?" she repeated in an enraged hiss. She was doing this under her breath now, obviously not wanting the others to hear.

"Don't tell them. Until Artemis is back you're the leader, and you should know what's best for them until then."

"What's he talking about, Thalia?" the blonde asked, walking up and glancing between us.

I turned my head to the short blonde, "Let me ask you something..." I paused, realizing I didn't catch her name (I imagined 'annoying-blonde-one-with-broken-nose' would only antagonize her further).

"-Aren" Thalia interjected.

"_Aren,_ can you remember back to a night sixteen years ago, the night of the 1994 annual eclipse?"

The hate in her eyes changed for a moment to confusion. Obviously her memory wasn't that precise. "Why?"

"On that night your Lady was attacked by the shade of King Midas, ring a bell?"

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, clearly only entertaining the conversation because it was taking her mind off the present for a second. "Yes, I do remember that. He hit Lady Artemis with some kind of light and she killed him. What about it?"

"Well this all has to do with that one night."

"What happened?" Thalia suddenly demanded, still staring at me but obviously no longer talking to me. I would've been offended had I the right to be.

"Thalia?" Aren asked.

"On that night, what happened, Aren?"

She frowned in thought as if trying to recall correctly, "He said he had some kind of gift for her, a crystal. He shattered it and it turned into this blue light and he hit Lady Artemis in the chest with it. There was this blinding gold and blue flash and next thing I knew I was on my back. Midas was dust and it was over."

"No…" Steff interrupted, "…I saw more, I remember it because it was the closest I had ever come to daring to look at Lady Artemis in her true form, if only to protect her. At the end he pulled free some kind of large orb of silver light from her chest, I heard some strange murmuring and it disappeared. Next thing you know Lady Artemis cut Midas' head off."

"Why is any of this important?" Aren snapped.

"The light…" Thalia said, staring right at me again.

"What?" Steff asked.

"That '_silver light', _what happened to it then?"

Steff shook her head, "Gone, it disappeared into the night, we never saw it again. Look, this is pointless! We shouldn't be standing here talking about some dusted shade when we should be twisting this filthy vermin until he tells us exactly what he did to Lady Artemis so we can find a way to help her!"

I sighed, "Are you going to hold me by the scruff of my neck all evening?"

Thalia grunted in frustration and tossed me back into my seat.

Suddenly something did occur to me that I had to ask, "Where is she, anyway?"

"Who?" she asked. I could tell by the look in her eyes she didn't know quite what to make of me anymore.

That's what you get for being too intuitive.

I raised an eyebrow, "Who do you think?"

Thalia sighed. "Lady Artemis said something about having to go and see someone. She seemed suddenly… angry when she said it, though."

"Oh dear…" I muttered.

Thalia's head whipped back round to me, "What? Do you know where she went?" suddenly all the Hunters were paying attention.

I laughed incredulously, "Oh, I know exactly where she went, that also explains why she left you all behind."

"Where is she, Armani?" Thalia demanded in a dark tone, ozone starting to saturate the air around her.

"She had…what's the phrase? Ah yes, I do believe she had a _bone to pick_ with a certain someone."

"A bone to pick?" Thalia echoed.

I smiled weakly, "A bone the size of one of Typhon's toothpicks. What is it they say about the wrath of women scorned? But worry not; I'm sure Lady Artemis will return in due course. I, on the other hand…" with that I began to push myself up, grabbing my bag in the process and covertly retrieving a small orb from it as I slipped the strap over my shoulder.

Thalia moved to intercept me as I turned for the door, "You're not going anywhere until Lady Artemis states otherwise." The other Hunters were moving too.

"You shouldn't deem to predict the future like that, Thalia, you might just end up jinxing yourself," I said and, without another word, smashed the orb in my hand on the ground, closing my eyes just in time as a blinding flash of light erupted from it, accompanied by a tremendous cloud of smoke. The Hunters gave a collective cry of shock and I weaved past them and shot out of the doors and back onto Fifth Avenue.

There was somewhere I wanted to be when it all ended. I immediately took to the back alleys; in the city the buildings were your trees, and the alleyways were the paths through that forest. I instinctively knew the way to go and realized with a start that my destination wasn't that far from New York City. But there was no time to stop and marvel at my good fortune (if it can be called that). I knew I had seconds before the Hunters were on my tail again. And I had the suspicion they wouldn't be so gentle in trying to bring me to a halt this time round.

_Time for one last run, I wonder if I can make it_…

-3-

Apollo sat alone in the darkness of his condo/temple. He had seen the devastation upon his approach and knew what it meant; the day he had been trying to put off for sixteen years was here, and that meant she would be coming for him soon.

He sat on his sofa, staring straight ahead, and didn't even flinch as a deafening CRASH echoed from the front door. The entire frame cracked and barely held up.

The charm that protected Apollo's domain came into place reflexively as the golden shimmer descended around the building.

CRASH!

Despite the barrier, the structure shook and some plaster dust came down through the cracking ceiling.

CRASH! CRASH!

The golden light pulsed madly as something smacked against it repeatedly. There was only so much a simple defense charm could take.

He didn't even flinch as the last deafening _SMASH_ echoed through the apartment and the golden light literally shattered…along with the entire door frame. The door flew right off what remained of its hinges, across the room, and right through one of the French doors on the opposite side of the building.

A cloud of plaster and dust concealed the gaping hole as Apollo stood up silently and turned towards the entrance, his hands at his sides.

The only thing visible through the cloud was a pair of blazing silver orbs, "So, you're here. I've been exp-" he was cut off however as Artemis exploded out of the dust, leapt through the air and, with a sickening crack of breaking ribs, hit Apollo with a brutal roundhouse kick that sent him flying back through the remaining French door, the shattering glass tearing open his suit as he passed through.

He hit the ground with another _crack_, a cloud of golden blood escaping as he coughed in pain. Artemis began slowly advancing through the devastation, growing as she walked, and when she hit the ceiling of the condo she simply tore out through the roof until she stood in the giant Olympian form usually reserved for when she was at her seat of power. She kicked her way through the doorway, cleaving the back part of the building off in the process.

Apollo still made no move to resist, but did raise one objection. "Mist sister! _Mist_!" In her enraged state she wasn't even concealing her presence from mortal eyes, and so what were the mortals seeing? A giant 12 year old girl rampaging on the coast Godzilla-style, of course. But, he realized, if anyone saw her it's not like they'd report it to anyone.

The goddess bent down and grabbed the prone sun god, dragging him up like a rag-doll and bringing him to her face. "How long?" she demanded after a moment, her voice shaking with primal rage.

Apollo noticed the golden stains on his sister's face, "You've been crying sister…" her response was to squeeze him with enough force to crush a corvette. Had he been mortal he'd have been pulped. One of his arms groaned and snapped right out of its socket.

_"HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN?"_

Apollo took a steadying breath, "All along. I knew he was yours from the instant I laid eyes upon him, and that his creation was also fundamentally flawed."

"Why? Why didn't you-" she demanded again, this time trailing off with sorrow in her voice.

"Why didn't I _tell you_? Because I couldn't be sure. I couldn't tell just what you might do when you found out."

"What I might do? What are you saying?"

Despite his situation, Apollo answered calmly, "I think you know what I'm saying. We are gods, you and I. We live by a natural order; never changing; we resist change. His life was a change in one of the fundamental laws that govern you. The Goddess of the Hunt can have no children, and yet, against the order, he was brought into being in a way that circumvented the natural laws. I couldn't be sure to what extent you would go to in the process of restoring that order."

Artemis' hands opened and Apollo fell to the ground, the huntress herself returning to her normal size. She was staring off to the side wordlessly, "You thought that I would kill my own child…" she swung her head back around to her brother, eyes blazing. "I'm the _goddess of childbirth,_ brother!"

"Exactly!" Apollo snapped, not getting up, "And he was born _wrong_! How was I supposed to know that you wouldn't see his life as some error that needed to be corrected?"

"So..." she began, walking slowly towards him. "…You simply did not trust me. And because of that you took from me something that was so fundamentally _mine_ that I now experience a pain so deep I didn't know it was possible to feel it."

"I had to make a choice, both as the god of healing and as your brother, and so I made one. His life was a tragedy, like those of so many countless half-bloods and heroes throughout time. In a way, the tragedy of his life is part of that order. Just look at history: be it Hercules, Perseus, Orion-"

Apollo didn't get past that third name.

_Oops__…__Oh-_

A look of utter, indescribable rage flashed across Artemis' face as her brother unwittingly opened up another old wound to add to this one. In a flash she was on him, savagely punching the sun-god with blow after blow. Her knuckles bled gold as she punched once so hard she felt several of her brother's back teeth shatter in his mouth. She stopped to breathe, tears of rage and anguish flowing down her childlike features. "You are right, brother. You _never_ change. Always taking from me the things that are most precious." She turned and began to walk away.

Apollo spat out some shards of teeth and pulled himself up, "I'm can't say I'm sorry sister. You may never forgive me, but all I can say is-" his eyes suddenly widened, staring off into the distance, "Oh, no…"

Artemis froze. Wiping her bloodied hands on her tunic, she turned around. "What?"

"I can't feel my imprint on him anymore, it just vanished…"

"Meaning _what_?"

"He's escaped your Hunters again, but he has paid the price."

Artemis' eyes widened and went back to her brother, grabbing him by his suit lapels. "Where is he?"

Apollo smiled weakly (_very_ weakly). "What does the lone wolf do when he can no longer hunt? He goes to find a place to die."

"Where?" Artemis breathed, a note of desperation in her voice.

"You tell me; where would you go when your hunt came to an end?"

She dropped her brother back to the ground, "I would return to the starting point…"

"Well, there you are. I suppose there is one thing you can do; the one thing I could never do as the lord of healing."

Artemis' eyes narrowed at her brother, "And that is?"

"Simple. You forcefully separate his soul from his body before both are pulled into oblivion. If you do that then there's at least a chance his soul will survive, although I cannot guarantee it. At least that way he would have a chance at the Underworld."

"And how do you suggest I do that?"

Apollo shrugged one shoulder, "I suppose a sword would be your first port of call."

Artemis' jaw dropped slightly, "Are you suggesting _now_ I kill him?"

"Oblivion or the Underworld, it's your decision, sister."

The goddess gritted her teeth and answered her brother by kicking him square in the chest and sending him skidding into a sand dune. She swung around and ran for her chariot. She wasn't sure what choice she would make, but she knew she had to start moving.

Apollo rolled onto his back, groaning in pain, as his face settled into a small smile, "All in your hands now sis…"

He yearned to return to Mount Olympus and recover, but there was still one thing left undone. Pulling himself up, he turned as his chariot descended to the earth beside him. He staggered over, pulled open the door of the red sports car and all but collapsed into the driver's seat. "Sure as Hades not driving stick tonight…" The engine fired up and he streaked off into the night sky.

-A-

"I'm not dead _yet,_" I grunted, pushing myself up. The Hunters couldn't be far behind. I could sense them coming. They would be reaching that last clearing right about now, that should stop them about a second, but I myself had fallen; a wave of nausea and weakness had swept over me and sent me tumbling over my own feet. The bash to my forehead wasn't pleasant either and my bangs were caked with mud and my blood. Then I saw what had made me fall.

There, on my left shoulder, was a small string of golden light trailing off me. It held there for a moment and then snapped free. I noticed its tailing end wasn't gold, but bright silver…

_It's started__…_

Drawing on willpower alone I staggered on into the clearing. I collapsed to my knees and felt a tingling in my shoulder, which was now trailing a blaze of silver light which in turn was steadily spreading down my arm and across my torso.

Using a tree I dragged myself up with my still-intact arm and surveyed my surroundings. I was there; the clearing where, sixteen years ago, I was born...

A patch of dead earth was noticeable as if someone had spread salt over it, and I knew immediately that it was the spot Midas had been felled by my mother's blade.

The skies were clear and the moon was still full from the previous night. I limped up the small hill towards the altar. The ocean below was quite beautiful, the large moon reflected in its surface. Needless to say it was a perfectly picturesque night to die.

I wasn't in pain. If anything I felt quite euphoric. For the first time in my memory I was entirely myself, with no sun god mixed in. I intended to enjoy the feeling for the few moments I had left before it killed me.

The light coming off me in itself was quite lovely as I stared at the surface of my glowing arm; like swirls of smoky moonlight drifting off a pool of glowing mercury.

My reverie was cut short as an even greater wave of weakness hit me and I staggered backwards, collapsing over the altar. It took all my strength not to fall all the way over.

I straightened myself out and laid back, it seemed as good a place as any to go. It's not really like I had a choice either, as my entire right side was now glowing brilliantly and spreading down my left leg.

I simply stared up at the moon as my peripherals filled with silver light. I heard a rustling in the undergrowth and managed to find the strength to turn my head to the right.

I felt a genuinely warm smile spread across my face, "_Ahh_…I've been expecting you…"

-3-

The Hunters of Artemis emerged into the clearing. Their prey was nowhere to be seen. The tracks led straight ahead and they stopped to pause and examine them briefly. Thalia wouldn't put it past him to double back or covertly change course.

Once the direction was confirmed Thalia waved the others ahead. His speed was unnatural; it was the pace of someone who had nothing more to lose.

All, however staggered to a halt just in time as a line of flame erupted in their path. It spread out until the entire circular clearing was surrounded by a huge wall of flame. "_What?_" Thalia gasped, as the Hunters backed up together in a defensive circle, drawing their weapons.

Some of the flames gathered together and from within them a shape emerged; Apollo's sun chariot. The flames parted around it until the sports car was resting directly in the path of the hunters. Its engine revved once then cut out.

Thalia didn't sheathe her sword as the sun god emerged. His appearance however, did give her serious pause. "Lord Apollo! What…What _happened _to you?"

Apollo grunted and leaned back against the hood of his chariot, only smiling once he was sure he had materialized some teeth into place in his mouth. But that didn't hide the swollen eye (which wasn't black thanks to the color of his blood), the limp arm or the golden blood that caked his clothes. Once he was sure he looked cool and nonchalant enough he spoke, "I got into a minor debate with my sister. She won."

"Please step aside, Lord Apollo, we must keep moving."

Apollo merely shook his head. "No, Thalia. I think both the Hunters and I have interfered quite enough in this little tale. This time it's a personal matter for Artemis to deal with alone. Your pursuit ends here."

"If it's a matter personal to Lady Artemis, that's all the more reason for us to be with her!" Steff objected.

Apollo shook his head slightly, "This has nothing to do with you, and I will not argue, either."

"Is it true?" Thalia asked simply.

Apollo didn't need to request clarification; the look on her face said it all. "It is true," he replied with a nod.

"I didn't want to say anything unless I was sure, but I was right then, Armani is-"

Apollo nodded. "-As usual you're as sharp as a tack, Thalia. _Yes, _Armani Dove is the one and only, immaculately conceived and immaculately born…" he trailed off with a smile, daring Thalia to finish.

She, being Thalia, dared. "…Child of Artemis."

"Bingo!" He regarded the Hunters. Only Thalia looked like she had taken it in. The others just stood frozen, unsure what to think. He may as well have said that the sky was really green.

"You're lying…" Aren said in a small voice after a moment.

Apollo merely narrowed his eyes, "Care to repeat that, Hunter?" It was more a threat than a question.

"He's not. Step aside Apollo, Lady Artemis may want us by her side tonight," Thalia said, having regained some composure.

"I will not, the only way I'm moving is if you make me. Would you care to try, Daughter of Zeus?" It was another dare and she knew that, even in his weakened state, he could incinerate them all with less than a thought. "You know as well as I that this is something Artemis has to deal with alone."

Thalia gripped her sword hilt so hard it hurt, but after a moment reluctantly lowered it, shoving it angrily into its scabbard.

"So what happens now?" she asked of the sun god.

The flames began to die down around them, "Now we wait. Artemis has a choice to make, and it is not one you or I should have any say in. Just wait, Thalia. It's almost over."

-A-

"I knew you'd come…" I said, still smiling as Artemis stood, regarding me sadly. The bronze sword in her hand was trailing down by her side as she slowly began walking towards me. I didn't speak as she walked about the alter and wordlessly stepped up onto it, never once taking her eyes off me until she stopped, kneeling silently over me.

"Will you let me pity you now?" she asked after a moment of silence.

"_Yes_... yes, I think I'd like that" I said, barely above a whisper, and could feel I was still smiling.

I felt something warm around where I _supposed_ my arm was and I realized she was holding my hand. I glanced down to watch as she held it gently in her own. It was almost totally transparent now. I could feel myself starting to drift away. I had no strength left to go on. I had seconds left, but there were words I had to say, my last words, and I knew if I had to erase my entire past up to this point to say them then I would.

"I'm so sorry, mother…"

I felt her tense and then squeeze my hand slightly. How she did that I'm not sure, as it was practically nonexistent by now. I saw the movement of her blade as she raised it up behind her.

"Close your eyes," she whispered with a tenderness I had never heard in the voice of another.

She gripped my hand tightly as I began to comply and felt the darkness of oblivion start to close in around me. Just before closing them, I caught the sight of her lowering her blade towards me…

That was when she thrust my hand into her lower abdomen.

-3-

The effect was, to say the least, quite spectacular.

Imagine the moon, for one blinding instant, erupting with such brilliant luminescence that the entire western world was bathed in impossible silver daylight.

The Hunters covered their eyes in shock, "There isn't enough Mist in the _world_ to cover something like this up! What in Hades is going on, Apollo?" Thalia called over the roaring sound that blanketed the countryside. A column of intertwining gold and silver light was visible over the trees.

Apollo just smiled wistfully as he stared, unhindered, at the blinding moon. "It looks like the choice has been made…"

-A-

I collapsed to the earth with a thud; the wind was totally knocked out of me. It was odd that there was anything for the wind to be knocked out _of._

My eyes moved left and right. I was in a crater. The altar I had been lying on had been reduced to rubble, and in fact the entire small hill it had been resting on had been flattened as if hit by a bomb.

_Hmmm__…__That's__…__ odd._

So much for my infallible instincts. I glanced down at myself, as I felt the weight on my chest had to be addressed.

And now I faced a dilemma as several facts became clear.

1. I appeared, oddly enough, to be alive. (This was good.)

2. I didn't have the energy to move. (This was bad.)

3. Lady Artemis was sprawled out on top of me. (This was _very_ bad.)

The dilemma? Well, there are many unsafe places in the world for a young man-balancing on the back of a Griffin in a lightning storm, flying down a freeway at breakneck speeds on a motorcycle-but let me tell you this: neither came even _remotely_ close to how terrifying it was to be in this position.

"Do you really think I'd kill you after I just went through all that trouble to save you?" the prone form suddenly muttered sarcastically, her voice muffled by my shirt.

I raised an eyebrow, "I cannot be sure…but on a related note can we consider it rude to read my mind without my permission in future?"

My mother pushed herself up and into a sitting position; she glanced down, regarding me with those silver eyes.

"I'm alive?" I just wanted to be sure.

"You are," Artemis said, inclining her head, the barest hint of a smile on her face.

"H-how? What did you do?"

"To put it simply, I completed your birth. That is, I rebuilt you and _then_ completed your imperfections. Your physical and fundamental ones, at least. As for your personality…well I'm afraid that was just beyond economical repair," she said with a sigh.

_Was I just insulted?_

"Can you move?" she asked, still regarding me inquisitively.

"I'll give it a go…" I said and did my best to push myself up. With a helping arm from my mother, I barely found my balance.

Now, normally, a person who had just been brought back from the brink of death would probably want to dance for joy and shed tears of happiness. I, on the other hand, just felt the urge to go out and kill something then eat it over a roasting fire…it's a me thing.

I realized she was still staring at me. I exhaled a breath, "I suppose we should _talk?"_

The goddess inclined her head curtly, "That would be prudent."

I suddenly felt immensely uncomfortable. She really was much easier to talk to when I thought she was trying to kill me. "Like I said…"

Artemis shook her head, "There was no need for you to apologize. I looked into your heart, remember; your feelings were more than justified."

"Regardless, you didn't deserve the things I said to you."

Artemis frowned in thought and began walking slowly around me, her hands clasped in front of her. "As far as I know, it is occasionally a mother's place to bear the pain of her child, is it not?"

I didn't meet her gaze, "There are limits, though…"

She paused, regarding me again. "You still feel unworthy about yourself."

I had no answer.

"You evaded me, weakened and dying, for two days with the full might of my hunt against you. You caused me no end of grief and were a great frustration the likes of which I have not felt in many centuries. I'm not sure how you will always feel about yourself, but with all that in account, I, at least, think you are good enough for me."

I turned to her in shock and realized she was smiling again. "Mother…" there was a mischievous glint in her eyes as I noticed they were drawn to a point above my head.

"I think that should be proof enough, should it not, my child?"

I frowned and glanced up. "Oh, what now?" I sighed at the glowing silver bow and arrow slowly rotating in the air above my head. It was one of the strangest and most eerily pleasant things I had ever seen. My eyes were inevitably drawn back to my mother, who was staring right at me again, "What…was that?"

"A sign that, now and forever, you are mine, Armani Dove."

I swallowed a lump in my throat, I was getting dangerously close to becoming emotional again and so I averted my eyes. My eyes turned to the moon while she stood there, observing me silently. Suddenly I realized the moon's position and glanced at my watch for confirmation. "Huh. Well look at that."

"What?"

"It's my birthday in just a moment." I smiled, watching as the hands ticked away.

I glanced up at my mother who was rubbing a finger through her caramel hair in thought, "Is something wrong?"

She blinked. "No, it's just, something occurs to me, Armani," she began, and once again started walking back and forth with her hands clasped together. "…It is traditional for an Olympian parent to present a gift to their child upon their coming of age. Whether it be a magical item or weapon or such…"

I smiled, "You've already-"

She carried right on as if not hearing me, "…I have no such gifts to give you" she said, frowning as if unsatisfied, "…In fact there is only _one_ gift I am really adept at giving…"

I raised a hand, waving off her concern with a laugh. "Honestly mother, I'm fine, you've done more than enough already," I said, but I got the feeling she really wasn't paying attention. She _was_ like Apollo in some ways after all.

She nodded, as if deciding on something, "Yes, that will do nicely."

I suddenly felt oddly uncomfortable. She had, after all, just held a whole conversation about me entirely with herself. "W-what will?"

Suddenly she turned those silver eyes back to me, and I found them burrowing right into my own.

"_This_…"

And then the strangest thing happened. You may recall my mentioning the song of the hunt that echoed in my head, especially on full moons, especially around her. Well, imagine that as a gently murmuring Gregorian choir suddenly exploding into the chorus of Ode to Joy, right inside my skull.

The force was so shocking it brought me to my knees as a strange power surged through me. My weariness evaporated, replaced by a surging, charging energy. Suddenly the urge to rush out on the hunt, to run and run and never stop, became near _unendurable..._

Adrenaline surged through me and I gasped for air. The shock slowly wore off and I carefully got back up on trembling feet. "W-what in Hades was that?" I gasped.

My mother just regarded me with a curiously raised eyebrow, "Fascinating. I've never seen a reaction quite that strong before, perhaps I should have warned you. But no matter."

"A reaction to _what_?" I asked incredulously.

She just smiled that small smile of hers and then waited for me to collect myself. "Are you all right?" she asked after a moment.

"Yeah…I'm okay." This was a lie. I felt _great_, insanely so. But I didn't say it.

Suddenly she looked sad, and this time it was she who was not meeting my gaze. "Armani, I claimed you and I have accepted you as my child and in my heart, but…"

I smiled warmly; I knew what she was getting at. "I understand."

She looked at me uncertainly. "Truly?"

I nodded, "Trust me; I really don't work well in groups anyway. I've always been more of a lone wolf... If you'll forgive the cliché. Plus I'm quite sensitive to animosity and amongst your Hunters I would find it a bit distracting. So don't worry about me feeling excluded mother. To be perfectly honest, I would've respectfully declined had you offered anyways…" I glanced away at the ocean in thought, "Perhaps our hunts will join for a time in the future, but I think it would be best if we parted company for now. You have many others in your charge who need you…especially now. I think they deserve an explanation for everything that's happened lately."

She looked both immensely grateful and relieved, and nodded. "Then in that case I feel the gift I gave you will at least serve to keep you safe in my absence."

"Yeah about that, what exactly _was_ that?"

She just laughed a small sweet laugh, turned about and started to walk away, "Good hunting, my child…"

I know it was petty, but I _had_ to have the last word. "What, no hug?"

I saw her shoulders tense and I could've sworn she winced as she continued off, muttering, "I can sense motherhood is going to be painful…"

"See you, _mom_!" I called after her with a laugh, waving as her small form disappeared into the green of the forest, and then she was gone.

I breathed out a calm breath as I sensed the warm presence behind me; like the warm light of dawn running over your back, I could feel him there. After all these years I could always feel when he was there…

I smiled despite myself, turning around as I spoke. "Hello uncle, I thought you'd might decide to-_Ares' armpits!_ What in Hades happened to _you_?" I gasped with my jaw hanging open.

He summed it up with one word. "Guess."

I glanced in the direction my mother had strolled off. "Right, right, I forgot she went to pay you a visit."

Apollo dropped with a pained grunt onto his backside. "So, still alive, huh?"

"It would seem so." Suddenly a spark of suspicion flared up in my mind. "Did you know?"

"Did I know what?"

"What my mother would do, did you know?"

"Are you insinuating that this whole thing was some brilliantly ingenious master plan by me to twist events to turn out this way and ensure my nephew's survival?"

"No, that would be far too smart for you; I just wanted to know if you knew how this would turn out."

He seemed a bit dejected by my answer, "No, I had no idea what my sister would do, and so I took a chance and trusted her in the end."

"Why how uncharacteristic of you, uncle."

Apollo nodded. "I suppose it was, and what are you going to do now?"

Suddenly my brow furrowed in thought, "I hadn't thought of that, I've never really had much thought for the future."

"Well it will take some time to rebuild my temple, which I plan to dedicate to my beloved sister in penance, so you can return there once it's finished. That will take some time, though."

My eyes narrowed. "How _much _time?"

Apollo shrugged, "As soon as I get around to it."

I had a feeling that was going to be his answer.

"Until that time I would recommend you do your best to lay low, go hunting for a while, but that little stunt your mother pulled won't go unquestioned by the others for long."

I glanced away in thought, "Lord Zeus probably knows already."

Apollo scoffed, "You and Artemis just lit up the entire damned _sky_, so I'd be surprised if he didn't."

I shook my head, "No, when I was talking to Artemis above the Empire State Building, I'm pretty sure he was listening in."

Apollo nodded, "Well I would leave that up to your mother, I'm sure she'll just break out the puppy dog eyes and dad will melt. But I would suggest you stay out of the skies until she can. And in the meantime you'd best find somewhere neutral to lie low for a spell."

I got that sinking feeling again. "Neutral?"

Apollo nodded. "Yup. In fact, I know just the place"

I raised an eyebrow, "Oh _really_?" I asked sarcastically, but, like usual, he couldn't tell.

He nodded with a smile, "Uh huh, a great place where you can stay as long as you like, where you can make loads of friends and-"

"_NO!"_ I interrupted suddenly.

Apollo looked suddenly put out, "B-but I was just saying-"

"Oh, I _know_ what you were saying!"

"But you'll be _safe_ at Camp Half-Blood!"

"I am _not_ going to that _lunatic asylum_! And there's not a thing you can say or do-"

"-Where's my motorcycle, Armani?" Apollo interrupted suddenly in a deadly calm voice.

I froze mid argument, my index finger in mid-stab and mouth open. "… Camp Half-Blood you say?" I enquired, plastering the biggest smile on my face I could muster, "I. Am. THERE!" I said, nodding enthusiastically.

Apollo smiled tensely, "I'm _so_ glad you could see it my way. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to Olympus and sleep all this off like a _baaad_ hangover."

"At least promise to get me out of there before I reach the upper age limit for the place."

Apollo's brow creased into a frown, "What do you mean?"

I rolled my eyes, "Well you can't very well have me still living at a summer camp when I turn thirty, can you? I would look a bit silly."

Apollo just shook his head. "Why would you look silly?"

"You don't really expect me to still be sitting around a summer camp with a bunch of hyperactive teenagers when I'm starting to worry about grey hairs, do you?"

I couldn't help but notice a small smile peak at the corner of my uncle's mouth, and suddenly I felt _extremely_ uncomfortable, "She didn't tell you, did she? I mean, you didn't figure out what she just _did _to you? Although it's not surprising…after all, normally she makes people take an oath before she does that to them."

My frown became a scowl, "Does _what_?"

Like his twin, he just carried right on as if not hearing me, "Although I guess it would sound silly; having you swear not to fall in love with any boys and all. That is unless, of course you don't, you know, find _me_ attractive, do you?"

"_No_, as a matter of fact, I do not! What in the name of Persephone's-" and right in the middle of making up my latest Olympian-related expletive it hit me with the force of one of my mother's arrows. My head turned slowly to the direction she'd left and then snapped back around to Apollo, "What in Hades did she do to me, Uncle?"

The sun god just smirked, "Enjoy your sixteenth year Armani; you're going to be living it for quite some time."

I barely had a second to glance away as he reverted to his immortal form and was gone, his boisterous laughter resonating about the clearing along with his echoing voice. "Off you go, nephew! I expect you know the way!"

Honestly, you destroy a god's temple, steal some of his stuff and wreck an insanely expensive motorcycle...oh, who am I kidding? I had it coming.

I myself turned and headed for the trees, wondering idly if I had been better off facing oblivion.

_Fin…_

[A/N] And thus the tale comes to a close, if you've read all the way and stuck with me to this point I say well done and pass my final kudos to my readers, my beta and all those who've reviewed and supported me up to this point. What else… Ah yes, I'd best add the mandatory:

To be continued in Broken Bow (Book 2): Shadows of the Hunt

See you then!


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